Parliament accepts amendment bill to Maldives Police Act

Parliament has accepted an amendment bill to the Maldives Police Act which seeks to allow the Police Integrity Commission to forward criminal cases to the Prosecutor General, to pursue charges.

The bill was submitted to the floor on behalf of the government by Guraidhoo MP Hussain Manik Dhon Manilk. It was accepted for consideration with unanimous votes by 74 MPs on Tuesday.

A total of 30 MPs spoke on the bill during the time allocated for debate. Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs argued that the Police Integrity Commission already sends criminal cases straight to the Prosecutor General and that the bill was a farce to show that the government is proposing a large number of bills to the parliament.

Pro-government Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) MPs said that there are a number of laws that contradict the constitution and that they must be quickly amended.

On acceptance, the bill was forwarded to the Committee on National Security for review. The first reading of the bill was held on 17 June 2014, at the third sitting of the second session of the parliament.