Bill on removing MPs based on constituents

The Maldives National Movement has decided to submit a bill to the Parliament that would facilitate the removal of Members of Parliament (MPs) if they work against the wishes of the constituents who elected them.

At a press conference today, member of National Movement Ahmed Shameem said that some MPs’ actions are against the wishes of their constituents, thus, a bill will be submitted to facilitate the removal of an MP if the majority of his constituents wish to remove him from his post.

“The idea is to submit a bill that would state that an MP would lose his seat if the majority of his constituents are not satisfied with his actions. We will not cease our efforts until we succeed in establishing that MPs will lose their seats if their actions are not according to the wishes of their constituents.”

President of Adhaalath Party Imran Abdullah said that a draft of the bill has already been prepared, and that discussions are under way with MPs of the National Coalition on submitting it to the Parliament.

“We haven’t been able to submit the bill yet because we haven’t been able to hold broad discussions with the members of the coalition yet. The draft of the bill has been prepared. Currently there is no way of holding MPs accountable for their actions. The citizens have no control over the Parliament,” he said.

Vice President of Civil Society Coalition Mohamed Didi said that while members of other institutions can be questioned and held accountable for their actions, the same cannot be done for MPs.

“MPs are supposed to represent the people, but we don’t see them working for the benefit of the people. They don’t work according to the pulse of the citizens. This has to be solved. They are not at the top. It should be possible to hold MPs accountable to citizens,” he said.