Parliament approves Fiyaz as Information Commissioner

Parliament has approved Hussain Fiyaz Moosa as the new Information Commissioner.

72 MPs, out of 87, voted in favor of Fiyaz at Monday’s sitting. The house did not call any other names, given that Fiyaz had received more than the required number of votes.

While President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had forwarded four nominations to the post, the parliament’s committee in independent institutions had approved three on October 8; They are Fiyaz, Ahmed Fayaz and Ahmed Aahid Rasheed. The committee’s interview session with the nominees were broadcast live.

Fiyaz’s name was approved with votes of all members at the meeting, while nine of the 10 MPs in attendance voted for Fayaz. Aahid received 10 out of 11 votes, while the fourth nominee Fathmath Saushan received five out of nine votes.

All nominees had to present a referral, who was giving the opportunity on their behalf.

They were also given a test on Maldives Constitution, which was made up of 15 points. Fiyaz received the highest marks in the test; 14. Fayaz received 11 marks while Aahid and Saushan each received 11.

While the former Information Commissioner Abdul Azeez Jamaal resigned on July 22, the post has been vacant for around three months. As per the constitution, the post of Information Commissioner must not be vacant for over 60 days.

The Information Commissioner’s Office was established on 13th July 2014.

Fiyaz has around 20 years of experience in journalism, and has worked in print, online and tv platforms. He was the chief operating officer at privately-run RaajjeTV until November 2018, and had worked as a consultant at the station until this year's parliamentary elections.

He also also written for Miadhu, Aafathis and Havaeeru.

Fiyaz received the Golden Pen for his contributions to the journalism industry, at the 2018 Journalism Awards.