Elections Commission is acting outside legal ambit, says opposition
The Elections Commission had this week removed MPs Mohamed Musthafa, Saudhulla Hilmy, and Ali Shah
The opposition accused the Elections Commission of acting as a ‘rubber-stamp’ to the government
A joint statement from the allied opposition parties has condemned the Elections Commission to remove three more parliamentarians of their seats, and said that the commission is acting outside the legal ambit.
The statement, released on Tuesday, further sited Article 74 of the constitution, which states that the Supreme Court determines ‘any question concerning the qualification or removal’ of parliamentarians.
“There is no law that mandates the Electiosn Comission to decide or announce whether MPs have been stripped of their seats” the statement said.
The statement also accused the commission of acting as a ‘rubber-stamp’ to the government, an accusation it extended to the parliament speaker Abdulla Maseeh, adding that the commission’s chair Ahmed Sulaiman is ‘a long-term political ally’ to President Abdulla Yameen.
The Elections Commission had this week removed MPs Mohamed Musthafa, Saudhulla Hilmy, and Ali Shah. The commission has also removed 10 other parliamentarians following a Supreme Court decision banning floor-crossing.
The opposition maintains that the ban on floor-crossing comes directly after they submitted a 45-signature motion of no-confidence against speaker Maseeh, and is a politicized attempt to keep the ‘Yameen crony’ at the helm of the parliament.
