Shujau: Law doesn’t cover current scenario; will reclaim seat in byelection

The existing laws do not cover the current scenario, says Shujau Ali, who the Local Government Authority (LGA) recently declared to have lost his seat as president of the V. Thinadhoo Council for floor crossing.

Shujau got elected on the Democrats’ ticket, and took office on May 17.

The Democrats was dissolved by the Elections Commission on June 2.

And on June 5, the LGA placed Shujau under suspension, citing a review into allegations of floor crossing.

On Thursday, LGA said that the EC has informed the authority that Shujau got registered to the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on May 19.

The LGA stated that under the existing legal framework, any councilor elected on a political party's ticket who defects to another party and is registered as a member of that party in the EC registry during their term automatically loses their seat.

Speaking to Sun on Saturday, Shujau pointed out the party he got elected from got dissolved after he took office.

Shujau said the existing laws do not cover this scenario.

He also accused the LGA of failing to popular examine the law or follow proper procedure before making its decision.

Shujau also vowed to reclaim his seat in the byelection.

The Decentralization Act states that councilors will lose their seat if they tender their resignation, or under the following three circumstances:

If a councilor who gets elected on a party ticket voluntarily leaves the party during their term, and the move gets registered by the EC

If a councilor who gets elected on a party ticket becomes a member of a different party during their term, and the move gets registered with the EC

If an independent councilor joins a party during their term, and the move gets registered with the EC.

Abdulla Shahid, the president of MDP, has called on the LGA to rescind its decision, characterizing it as a politically motivated decision taken without following standard protocol.

“It is unacceptable to fail to follow this [protocol], challenge the will of voters, and take politically motivated measures simply because he is a member of the MDP,” he said.

“The government must learn to uphold the rule of law,” he added.

The LGA has directed the Thinadhoo Council’s vice president Sameer Ahmed to take over the running of the council until a new president is elected.

The Democrats’, founded by former President Mohamed Nasheed on July 11, 2023, was dissolved by the EC in June for failing to meet the minimum membership requirement of 3,000. Nasheed, along with many of his allies, had left the Democrats and rejoined the MDP last year.

He was recently elected as the chairperson of the MDP.