Constitutional authority could be undermined by using ordinary legislation to extend the terms of elected positions to as long as 20 years: Dr. Shamsul Falah

Dr. Shamsul Falah, a legal and constitutional scholar, has warned that efforts are underway to reshape the Maldives' governance by introducing legislative amendments that could undermine constitutional provisions without formal constitutional changes. He noted that such measures could potentially extend elected terms to as long as 20 years, and urged the public to vote "no" in the referendum to prevent the authority of the Constitution from being subverted by ordinary legislation.

Speaking on RaajjeTV’s "Noonekey" campaign program, Falah stated that the proposed amendment regarding the parliamentary term does not constitute a direct change to the Constitution itself. Falah clarified that this is a specific provision included in the bill passed to synchronize the two elections outside the existing constitutional framework.

Noting that such transitional provisions are typically used to bridge two distinct situations, Falah stated that the bill passed by Parliament to synchronize elections essentially uses a transitional clause as a "backdoor" to amend the Constitution. He warned that this sets a very dangerous precedent.

Why was this provision omitted when new clauses were added and existing ones amended within the Constitution? What was the objective behind this? Why was it executed in a manner that breeds public suspicion? Could this possibly earn any praise? It will invite nothing but criticism. So, what was the purpose of this action? They could have simply incorporated the language of Article 4(b) by adding a new clause to Article 79. Why was that not done? By failing to do so, the implication is that the amendment does not necessarily have to meet the high threshold stipulated in Article 4(b), as it was introduced as a transitional provision outside the standard constitutional framework. Looking at the substance of Article 4(b), the Constitution explicitly mandates that such changes must be put to a public referendum.

Dr. Shamsul Falah, an author and researcher specializing in legal and constitutional studies.

He stated that incorporating provisions from other laws into the Constitution to facilitate amendments is referred to as a "shadow amendment" to the Constitution.

Why then should we even speak of a five-year term? While subsection (b) stipulates a five-year duration, shouldn't subsection (c) simply state that the term will be extended to 10 or 20 years if certain conditions are met? Are we expected to remain silent while a term is extended to 20 years, simply because it was passed by a majority vote within a controlled environment?

Dr. Shamsul Falah, an author specializing in legal and constitutional research.

Falah repeatedly emphasized that it is a dangerous precedent to circumvent the Constitution by embedding provisions in other laws that effectively neutralize constitutional articles without formally amending them.