Saudhulla Hilmy to his constituents: think hard before partaking in any unlawful by-elections
He made the appeal in a letter addressed to the people of Thinadhoo-North constituency
Saudhulla Hilmy
Following Election Commission (EC)'s decision to strip of his parliament seat, Thinadhoo North constituency MP Saudhulla Hilmy has called on the people to "think hard" before partaking in any "unlawful" activities.
In a letter addressed to the people of his constituency, Hilmy noted that during his campaign back in 2014 he had vowed to never participate in any activities that are against the Constitution and laws, adding that he still remains the same.
Hilmy noted that there were only around 300 people registered to the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) from his constituency back in 2014, but that over 1,000 had voted to elect him as their representative. This, Hilmy said, showed that it was "not just PPM members that voted" to elect him. He added that 90 percent of the PPM members in Thinadhoo North constituency supported former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Gayoom is involved in a public dispute with his half-brother, incumbent President Abdulla Yameen over PPM's leadership. The party has been divided into two factions since June 2016.
Also highlighting that most of the senior government officials that traveled to Thinadhoo for his campaign have since been dismissed, Hilmy said that it was "because of such reasons that I handed over my resignation from the party on July 10".
However, Yameen's faction of the party- which handles PPM as per a Civil Court ruling- refused to remove Hilmy, along with some other parliamentarians, from the party registry, claiming that the Ethics Committee was investigating complaints against them. Then, in late October, the Committee decided to dismiss Hilmy, and two other MPs.
As per a recent Supreme Court ruling, parliamentarians will lose their seats if they leave a party, joins another or is expelled from the party.
Hence the MP called on the people to be wary that authorities might attempt to hold an "unlawful" by-election in the constituency, asking them to "think hard" before partaking in any such unlawful activities.
