Mohamed Shifaz, deputy leader of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has encouraged residents in the outer lying islands to visit the capital on the day the vote of no-confidence against speaker Adullah Maseh enters parliament.
At a campaign event held in Gaddhoo of Gaaf Dhaal atoll, Shifaz – also a former MP for the Baarah constituency – said the entirety of the population is committed to rightful representation of their constituents.
Shifaz said at the rally that there have been ‘numerous’ laws passed, under Maseeh’s watch, that oppress and restrict the rights of citizens, adding that he ousting is ‘necessary to see these wrongs amended’.
He expressly referred to the speculated sale of Faafu atoll to Saudi Arabia in his outrush about government ‘tyranny’, and said that the Yameen administration’s ‘appalling’ silence is the mark of a dictator.
In this regard, Shifaz assured Gaddhoo residents of MDP’s commitment to repealing the 2015 amendment to Article 251 of the constitution – which now allows the government to sell land to foreign entities.
Thirty-six members present at the party’s national assembly had voted in favour of a formal decision to propose that this law be repealed. 37 members were present at the assembly.
Read More: MDP to pursue foreign landownership repeal
Further, Shifaz said that the laws on freedom of assembly and defamation also need to be annulled.
In 2016, the government proposed a controversial draft legislation to criminalize defamation, which often described to be a hindrance to free press. In August, it ratified an amendment to the Freedom of Assembly Act, which stipulated that protests, marches, and parades could only be held with written permission from the government.
He lamented that a lot of sacrifices had been made to draft the constitution, done so after former President Mohamed Nasheed took office in 2008, and it is now being ‘butchered’.
The no-confidence motion against Maseeh, filed with 26 signatures, will be voted on next Monday.
The six-point motion accuses Maseeh of ‘refusing to ensure’ equality in parliament, disregarding the rule of law, disrespecting the system of checks and balances, disregard for procedure, and ‘subverting’ democracy.
