The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) national council on Tuesday night voted against supporting a change to the parliamentary system.
The party opposed the system - which it previously favored when former President Mohamed Nasheed was MDP chairperson - after a debate on a resolution passed by parliament to hold a public referendum on the system of government as sought by The Democrats party formed by Nasheed.
After losing Saturday's presidential election, most members spoke in a manner that suggested they were against the parliamentary system because Nasheed was in favor of it.
Council members said they were disheartened when Nasheed and The Democrats campaigned against the incumbent and the MDP in the presidential election.
At Tuesday night's meeting, all members except recent recruit Kaashidhoo MP Abdulla Jabir spoke against the parliamentary system.
In the vote taken after an upset Jabir left the meeting, all 90 members who participated voted against the parliamentary system.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who spoke first in the debate, said there were flaws and strengths in both systems but that the presidential system was most suited to the Maldives.
If a public referendum is called to choose the system, the president said he would actively campaign to seek support for the presidential system.
Foreign Minister Abdulla Shahid said it would be irresponsible to work towards a parliamentary system without allowing the MDP's opponent who won the presidential election to govern.
"We should not think as a responsible opposition party to snatch the seat away before the president-elect can sit as the president," he said.
President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu should have the opportunity to rule as decided by the people, Shahid said.
MDP Deputy Chairperson Ibrahim Waheed (Iburey) said The Democrats are seeking to rejoin the MDP after campaigning against President Solih out of greed for changing to a parliamentary system. But the MDP will not allow that, he said.
The first round of the presidential election showed that The Democrats cannot win a parliament seat on its own, he said.
The party would need an alliance with the MDP or the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) to do so and its push for a referendum was part of a similar devious plan, he added.
Planning Minister Mohamed Aslam said a reason for not changing to a parliamentary system was the power of voters, which he said allowed Maldivians to end a 30-year rule.
"Regardless of the decision, the people have the power. The complete power to decide who comes to power. I don't see that in a parliamentary system," he said.
One reason cited by many council members for not supporting a parliamentary system was their desire to oppose Nasheed.
"If President Nasheed supports the presidential system, we would support a parliamentary system," one member said.
The resolution proposed by Nasheed's Democrats, the minority party in parliament, to hold a referendum before October 30 was passed with the backing of the MDP.
But after the second round of the presidential election, the MDP said President-elect Muizzu should have the opportunity to govern and that this was not the appropriate time to hold a referendum.
When Nasheed led the party, the MDP supported the parliamentary system in the 2007 referendum on the system of the government. The presidential system won out at the time.
The MDP with Nasheed as the leader continued to advocate for a parliamentary system. Nasheed proposed the change ahead of the 2018 presidential election but it was not included in the coalition manifesto after disagreements with coalition partners.
Nasheed resumed work during Solih's administration as well but the president did not comply. It was one reason that Nasheed was unhappy with Solih's government.
The MDP agreed to pass the resolution amid negotiations seeking The Democrats' support for Solih. Nasheed said the MDP agreed to support a parliamentary system if The Democrats stayed neutral in the second round. But the MDP denies this.
In a letter sent earlier on Tuesday, the Elections Commission (EC) explained the obstacles for holding the referendum on the requested date and informed parliament that more time was needed to prepare for such an election. At Tuesday's sitting of parliament, Democrat MPs also spoke in favor of delaying the vote.
Apart from The Democrats, all other parties have declared their opposition to the parliamentary system. As most people in the Maldives vote in line with their parties, a vote in favor of the parliamentary system is not expected to pass.
