Supreme Court on Wednesday nullified the Elections Commission’s decision to reverse its decision to unseat 12 opposition lawmakers.
The Elections Commission had initially removed the 12 MPs from Parliament after they violated a floor-crossing ban, with the commission having announced that it will be holding by-elections for the 12 constituencies.
While the Supreme Court's initial ruling on the 01st of February ordered the reinstatement of the opposition lawmakers, the court on Wednesday night ruled that the Maldives constitution gives the Supreme Court the authority to make a final ruling on the issues of reinstating the MPs.
The court also stated that the constitution clearly states that no other institution has the power to deliberate on the vacant seat of the 12 constituencies, nor does it give the Elections Commission the power to make decisions regarding the said seats.
The ruling also states that deliberating on, or announcing a decision on such cases before the Supreme Court issues a verdict in the matter, will be deemed as an attempt to influence the decision of the judges bench, stressing that such acts that may influence the judge’s verdict, are prohibited under the constitution.
With this being stated, the Supreme Court decrees that the EC’s reversal of its decision to unseat lawmakers “before the Supreme Court makes a ruling in the matter” on the 03rd of October, is void. Supreme Court also declared that any bills passed and any decisions made in Parliament sessions and committee meetings will also be deemed to be against constitutional conventions.
EC on Tuesday sent out a tweet that reads that they had reversed the decision to unseat the lawmakers until a verdict is heard by the Supreme Court, also having announced that it has informed this to all relevant institutions.
The 12 former ruling party lawmakers have been prohibited from attending parliament sittings since July 2017. While their defection gave the opposition clear majority in parliament, they were unseated so as to quash a no-confidence motion against Speaker Abdulla Maseeh. Since then, Parliament sessions have convened only to pass important bills proposed by the current government and confirm appointments of individuals nominated to state positions by the President Abdulla Yameen.
