The families of abducted journalist Ahmed Rilwan and murdered blogger Yameen Rasheed have urged the parliament to pass the bill to empower presidential commissions.

The president formed the commissions to investigate prominent cases of murder and corruption.

While Husnu Suood, the head of one of the commissions, stated that their work has been at a standstill due to lack of legal authority, the government had failed to pass the bill to give them the required legal power in the last parliament term.

The families’ call to pass the bill comes after the MPs of the new parliament were sworn in on Tuesday. Two thirds of the seats are filled with members of the main ruling party, giving the government more than enough votes to pass the bill.

In a press release, the families noted that it has been five years since Rilwan was last seen after his abduction, and two years since Yameen’s brutal murder, and stated that other families with missing or murdered members have also been patiently waiting for justice.

The families highlighted that the many of these cases had stalled under suspicious circumstances due to incomplete investigations and the involvement of state officials. They detailed that trials were also stalled due to missing documents and evidence and changes to presiding judges.

Highlighting the lack of public trust in judges, they stated that they want the newly elected MPs to remember the grieving families and pass the bill to empower the commissions.