Verdict on challenge to MP Sinan’s seat slated for Sunday, after monthslong holdup

The Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver its judgement on Sunday, nine months after it wrapped up hearings in a case challenging the legitimacy of the parliamentary seat of North Hithadhoo MP Mohamed Sinan over alleged failure to honor a ruling made by a magistrate court in 2024 ordering him to settle an outstanding debt.

The ruling in question was made by the Hithadhoo Magistrate Court after the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) lawmaker and two of his co-applicants – Ahmed Waheed and Mohamed Saleem – were sued by the Maldives Islamic Bank (MIB) for failure to repay an MVR 3.8 million loan they took from the bank.

The MIB filed the lawsuit against the trio from Hithadhoo on July 21, 2024, and won the case nearly three months later on October 14, 2024.

But a private citizen, Ghalib Saleem filed a case with the Supreme Court on February 13, 2025, alleging that the Sinan and his partners failed to repay the debt as ordered by the court, citing an enforcement order requested by the bank.

The Supreme Court is scheduled to deliver its judgement in the case on Sunday afternoon.

The case is being heard by a bench of five judges: Aisha Shujoon Mohamed, Ali Rasheed Hussain, Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim, Hussain Shaheed, and Mohamed Saleem. Of the five, Saleem and Shaheed were Supreme Court appointments made by the incumbent PNC administration.

It has been nine months since hearings wrapped up in the case.

After Ghalib filed his petition, Sinan reportedly made a partial payment clearing all outstanding dues as of February 13, 2025, following which the bank withdrew its filing seeking an enforcement order.

In the Supreme Court filing, Ghalib cited Article 73 (c) of the Constitution, which states that “a person shall be disqualified from election as a member of the People’s Majlis, or a member of the People’s Majlis immediately becomes disqualified, if they have a decreed debt which is not being paid as provided in the judgement.”

He asked that the court to establish that Sinan has not paid his debt as decreed and has therefore lost his parliamentary seat.

Sinan won the North Hithadhoo seat in parliamentary elections on April 21, 2024, after beating Mohamed Aslam – a politician from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) who had held the seat for 20 years.

The elections had also seen the PNC – fresh from its 2023 presidential election victory – gain a supermajority of seats in the Parliament with 75 out of 93 seats.

The potential loss of Sinan’s seat will therefore have little effect on the PNC’s power in the legislative assembly.