President plans to introduce recall vote for parliamentarians and councilors

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu says he plans on proposing legal provisions to introduce a recall mechanism which will empower voters to remove parliamentarians and councilors from office before their term expires.

 In an appearance on SanguTV’s ‘Espresso with Raees’ show on Saturday evening, President Muizzu said that introducing a recall mechanism for parliamentarians and councilors is part of his administration’s legislative agenda.

He said that introducing a recall mechanism would allow voters to remove parliamentarians and councilors who perform poorly or fail to uphold their legal duties, instead of having to wait for the next elections.

“This means that if the performance of members of the Parliament or council members goes down, or if they fail to do what is required of them by law, then the people can gather a specific number of signatures and file a petition, and remove them from office by gathering a specific number of votes,” he said.

President Muizzu said that this will allow both the Parliament and councils to be held accountable.

“We hold the presidential elections and the parliamentary elections on the same day, elect parliamentarians, and if they fail to meet the criteria set by law during their term, then the people have the opportunity to remove them,” he said, describing the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s argument that the proposal by his administration to synchronize presidential and parliamentary elections would affect accountability as “lacking substance.”

“It will enable the Parliament, councils and the government to function more efficiently. Elections will be held with the full participation of the people, freely and fairly, in the full sense of the word, and with a high turnout,” he said.

Though President Muizzu said he plans to propose introducing a recall mechanism, he did not say when.