Interim order requested to prevent removal of MPs

An interim order has been requested from the Supreme Court to prevent the dismissal of parliamentarians.

Former MP for Kendhoo constituency and lawyer Ali Hussain filed a petition with the Supreme Court requesting a temporary injunction and expedited hearing regarding the case seeking to nullify the constitutional amendment concerning the dismissal of parliamentarians.

In the case where Ali Hussain has requested a temporary order, it was stated as a reason that the 6th Amendment to the Constitution amending Article 73 of the Constitution conflicts with Article 4 of the Constitution which establishes that all powers of the Maldivian state remain with the Maldivian people, the principle in Article 8 of the Constitution that all state powers must be exercised in accordance with the Constitution, the constitutional principle established in Article 5 of the Constitution that the People's Majlis remains as an independent power vested with all legislative authority, as well as Articles 26, 75, and 90 of the Constitution. The amendment also disrupts the presidential system based on separation of powers democratic principles and contradicts the "Basic Doctrine Structure."

Therefore, a petition has been filed at the Supreme Court to declare the amendment to Article 73 through the 6th Amendment to the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives as constitutionally invalid and void, and to declare that even during the period the amendment is in effect, it cannot be retroactively applied to currently elected members of the People’s Majlis.

Among the remedies sought in this case is a declaration that the changes to Article 73 do not apply to current members of the People’s Majlis. The case states that before the Supreme Court makes a decision, if a political party dismisses a member under Article 73(e) of the Constitution, the resulting vacancy and by-election would cause irreparable damage to the state and would affect the overall remedy sought in the case.

It has been highlighted that if a temporary order is not issued, the potential damage to the party seeking the order would be that political parties now have the opportunity to remove Members of Parliament from their positions under the amendment made to Article 73 of the Constitution.

Further, it has been stated that in the event these parliamentarians resign, holding by-elections in the vacant constituencies would be a financial burden that the state would have to bear, and after said by-elections are completed and new members are elected to those constituencies, if the Supreme Court of Maldives rules in favor of the petitioner when deciding the case, it would give rise to additional legal complications.