Judges yield to political pressure too often, says MP Azim
MP Ali Azim said judges often accept bribes, and it needs to be said.
Justice Building in Malé, Maldives
Maldivian judges too often let political actors influence their decisions, parliamentary representative for Central-Henveiru constituency, MP Ali Azim said.
At a Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) rally on Sunday night, MP Azim said judges easily yield to political pressure – a sentiment he also said needed expressing in spite of whom it may offend. He continued to say that powerful politicians truly ‘control’ the judiciary, often through bribes that judges appeasingly pocket.
He further criticized President Abdulla Yameen for his ‘grip’ on legal proceedings, and added that if the ruling party acquires even 25 percent in the upcoming local council elections, with 650 MDP candidates contesting, it sends a dire ‘message’.
The message it sends, as said by the MP, is that Maldivians are not hungry for change, and do not desire justice.
He called on anyone with a 'spirit against corruption’ to not be idle, and vote against ‘tyranny’ in the elections, now scheduled for April 15th.
The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) would need 163 seats to acquire 25 percent.
Azim was Maldives’ first elected president of the Football Association, and had held a seat at the Asian Football Confederation’s Executive Commission.
