The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson, Fayyaz Ismail, has said the constitution needs to be amended so that the parliament plays a role in determining the number of political employees when new governments form ministries.
In a column published on Adhadhu, Fayyaz wrote that governments should not be able to create as many political positions as they like.
He wrote that details should be added to Article 15 of the constitution which empowers the President to create unlimited political positions.
“When ministries are created, the number of employees required to run the ministry and the number of political employees to be appointed to the ministry can also be approved by the Parliament,” Fayyaz said.
Such a change would result in the parliament having the power to change the number of political employees required for a ministry if the incoming President proposes an inflated number.
President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's administration has concealed the total number of political employees and that has become one of the biggest criticism of his government.
Fayyaz said the solution for this is to have a wide debate in parliament on the number of political employees.
"Now we are not aware of the number of political employees in the government. It is estimated that the number will now reach 3,000," Fayyaz wrote.
Muizzu pledged not to increase the number of political employees to more than 700. However, information gathered from various sources confirms that the total number of political employees is close to 2000.
The government has so far refused to disclose the total number of political employees. Although the information had been sought under the Right to Information Act, the President's Office has not complied.
