Speaker Nasheed: Will discuss amendments to constitution with political parties

Former President and the Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed said that discussions will be held with political parties for their input, prior to making amendments to the Maldivian Constitution.

Speaking in the debate held by on the bill that proposes amendments to existing laws to bar political figures from being in the Judicial Service Commission (JSC), the Parliament’s representative for Thulusdhoo constituency Ibrahim Naseem said that all members will believe that many changes need to be made to the constitution.

“It has been 12-13 years since the new constitution came into effect. We have started to notice that changes need to be brought to this. It is our collective responsibility to gather the experiences of the past years and bring amendments.”

 Additionally, MP Naseem noted that this needs to be with input from all political parties, under an “all-party talk”, and he urged Nasheed to lead this.

Responding to the MP’s remarks, Speaker Nasheed also expressed his agreement over changes needing to be brought to the constitution and added that it should not be based on what the majority party wants.

“Instead of doing what the majority party wants in bringing the changes, it would be wise to do what all parties can agree on.”

Noting that in Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) National Congress, major changes for the constitution were decided on. Nasheed went on to say that it would be very useful to gain the input of other parties on those proposed amendments.