The People’s Majlis Secretariat has announced that action will be taken against Members of Parliament who fail to submit their financial statements, as required under the parliament’s regulations.

Of the 93 lawmakers of the People’s Majlis, 88 have submitted their statements to date. The remaining five are comprised of four lawmakers from the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) and one lawmaker from the Maldives National Party (MNP).

The members who have yet to submit their financial declarations are MP for Central Mahchangoalhi constituency Ahmed Zameer, MP for North Maafannu constituency Mohamed Nazim, MP for West Maafannu constituency Mohamed Musthafa Ibrahim, MP for Kurendhoo constituency Mohamed Shamin Habeeb and MP for North Feydhoo constituency Ismail Nizar, all representing the main ruling PNC.

According to parliament’s regulations, lawmakers are required to disclose their financial statements one year after taking the oath of office. For the current 20th People’s Majlis, this deadline was May 31, marking one year since members were sworn in on 28 May 2024.

The Secretariat emphasized that it will enforce disciplinary action against members who fail to comply with the requirement, as stipulated in Article 77 of the parliament’s regulations.

Under Article 77, lawmakers are granted an additional 15-day grace period to submit their statements. If they still fail to comply, their names will be announced in a parliamentary sitting. Following the announcement, said lawmakers will be barred from participating in any parliamentary sittings or committee meetings until their financial statements are submitted. Further, a daily deduction will be applied to their salary for each day the statement remains outstanding after the announcement.

Current regulations do not require lawmakers to submit financial disclosures at the time of election, which means there is no public record of a lawmaker’s assets or wealth when entering office, nor a basis for tracking changes during their term. Transparency Maldives (TM) and other civil society organizations have raised concerns about this lack of transparency and accountability.