By-elections are not held to elect MPs for vacant seats if there are less than six months before a general election. The Supreme Court today ruled that the Parliament's total membership should include vacant seats.
The ruling was issued after referring to statements from MPs from the minutes of the Special Assembly that drafted the Constitution.
In the opinion of Justice Dr. Azmirelda Zahir, which was unanimously agreed by the five-member bench, one of the notes referred to was a statement by Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra), chairman of the drafting committee and Male' MP.
"In Male' MP Ibrahim Ismail's opinion during the 200th Session of the Special Assembly of the People's Majlis, 'It is rare for one political party to get a two-thirds majority. What will happen next is that a judge can only be removed with the support of politicians from different views'".
The justices interpreted Ibra's comments to mean that the Constitution requires specific majorities for certain votes in order to ensure that major decisions on critical issues cannot be made by a few people.
Chairperson of the drafting committee, Ibra told Adhadhu in an exclusive interview today that the Special Assembly was not just concerned that a few MPs would be able to make major decisions.
More than that, the Special Assembly debated and decided on ways to ensure that the Majlis does not cease to function, he highlighted.
"Nothing can be passed when the full majority is required. That causes Majlis to cease functions," said Ibra who also served as former President of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
He believes that the current situation is completely new and special. This is not a situation that MPs of the Special Assembly could have imagined, he said.
"Even when the Constitution was written, we never imagined that suddenly many MPs would be given ministerial appointments and give up their seats. It was not something that we thought would have to be written," he said.
Ibra supports the change made by the Parliament under the current situation. The Constitution also envisages a majority of MPs, he said. He stressed that the majority should not be counted by the total number of seats or constituencies but by the number of MPs, excluding the vacant seats.
"In this, we have to think from a perspective of mathematics, proportion, percentage, fraction. When we say the majority of the total MPs, we have to look at the percentage or fraction denominator by the number of MPs," he said.
There is a fear that the country could go into a constitutional vacuum if the Parliament's total membership is counted with the vacant seats. That is the biggest concern highlighted in Ibra's interview.
The Constitution, which contains the features of a presidential system with three separate powers, describes the role of the Parliament in making laws and ensuring accountability. Ibra said those functions should not stop for six months.
"This is a very special situation. We are faced with a special question in this situation. The Constitution does not allow electing MPs for the vacant seats. This time it's seven MPs. Then tomorrow, for instance, 50 MPs resign. In that period, the system of accountability disappears," he said.
