Parliament has returned the committee on independent institution’s report on the list of nominations for membership to National Integrity Commission (NIC).

Speaking at the debate stage, Kaashidhoo MP Abdulla Jabir said that the nominations had been sent during the previous parliament tenure and so there would now be more people interested in the position.

Maduvvari MP Adam Shareef Umar backed MP Jabir’s motion to return the list to the committee, and the motion was passed with 63 votes in favor.

The committee report was sent to the parliament floor on June 26. However, the list of nominations that the committee evaluated had been sent on April 15, during the previous parliament tenure.

Aminath Rukshana received the highest marks among the nominations, with 84.33%. She had been a member of the Police Integrity Commission in 2014 during former President Abdulla Yameen’s administration.

While one NIC seat is currently empty, 26 candidates have applied for membership, out of whom four received the minimum score of 75.

While Maaniu Mohamed also received a score of over 75, he withdrew his nomination amid public outrage, after missing journalist Ahmed Rilwan’s family accused him of being negligent in investigating Rilwan’s case when he had been the NIC President.

Others who received the required score are Ali Mohamed Manik (78.83%), Dr Aishath Shehnaz Adam (77.57%), and Yusuf Maaniu Mohamed (77.57%).

Parliament will be voting for a new NIC member after the resignation of commission President Mohamed Farhad. The current members are Has’san Hameed, Khadeeja Abdulla, Ahmed Ameen, and Ahmed Sulaiman.

NIC was formed in 2016 to replace the Police Integrity Commission and Customs Integrity Commission.