Parliament should not criticise court decisions: Zahir

Former Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Zahir has said that the parliament should not criticise decisions made by the courts.

Zahir said this while speaking on DhiTV Khabarutherein programme tonight.

“The parliament cannot criticise the Supreme Court. A decision by the Supreme Court can only be criticised from a scholarly perspective. And even that should not come from the parliament. The parliament should not criticise court decisions, there is no opportunity to even discuss the issue,” he said.

He said that the Constitution does not give the parliament the opportunity to criticise the courts, and that court officials should not be summoned to parliament committees.

Zahir said that the parliament is responsible for making laws and that it does not have the authority to hold others accountable. He said that the parliament also does not have the power to change the Supreme Court bench, and that this was decided by the parliament itself.

Referring to the problems currently faced by the parliament, Zahir said that the problem associated with the parliament is a problem affecting the whole country, which is the failure to implement laws and regulations.

He referred to the broadcast of parliament sessions on TV and said that the problem could be solved if action is taken against those who violate the law and if such incidents are not broadcast live on TV.

Zahir referred to the upcoming Presidential Election and said that it is not likely that a coalition would be formed for the first round of the election.

He said that Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) might be the single party to obtain most votes; however, based on the experience of MDP during its three years in power, he did not believe that the party can win the Presidential Election.