Elections Commission's statements do not make sense: Dr. Hassan Saeed

Gaumee Party Leader Dr. Hassan Saeed has said that the statements made by the Elections Commission regarding the Political Parties Bill do not make sense.

Speaking at DhiTV’s Khabaruthereyn program last night, Dr. Saeed said that the statements by the Elections Commission saying that the parties have not yet been dissolved, but removed from the party registry, do not add up.

Describing what he thought of the Commission’s statements, he said that it is equivalent to “telling a couple that their marriage certificate in now invalid, but then saying that their marriage is still valid,” Dr. Saeed said.

“I don’t see how the commission’s words make any sense. For instance, they have been removed from the party registry, and that does not allow space for the party to get organized and act as an organization. The statuses of the members who represent the parties then disappear. Parliament members who represent their parties in Parliament lose certain opportunities. It takes away State financial support,” Dr. Saeed said.

The President recently ratified the Political Parties Bill granting it the power of law. The law now states that all political parties with a membership count of below 10,000 members are liable to be dissolved.

While there are a number of quarrels regarding the dissolution of parties, Elections Commission published their reviewed political party registry yesterday, which now includes five parties; Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), Jumhoory Party (JP) and Adhaalath Party (JP).

Dr. Saeed also directed his words towards the members of Parliament, saying that the manner in which the Parliament had dealt with the Political Parties Bill and the Parliament Privileges and Powers Bill was particularly irresponsible.

“The biggest concern is the irresponsibility of the Parliament members. With no respect to the fundamentals of the law, acting in ways that you cannot act in a democratic society, the political parties bill and privileges bill were passed in a very authoritarian manner,” said Dr. Saeed.

The Political Parties Act states that the parties that are dissolved will not be able to conduct political activities in the country. A number of different parties have raised concern that this would curtail the right to political participation of a large portion of the entitled population.

Political Parties Bill was first passed during last year’s last term of Parliament. The President had then retuned the bill to the Parliament for reconsideration. The Parliament had however passed the bill for the second time without approving any of the recommendations, making it mandatory for the president to ratify the bill.

The Attorney General’s Office has highlighted a number of legal issues with the Political Parties Act, and has recently submitted the Act to the Supreme Court.