Constitutional amendments need to revert to stringent procedure: Qasim

Maamigili MP and Jumhoory Party leader Qasim Ibrahim has called for a revert on the constitutional amendment procedure.

At Wednesday's parliamentary sitting, Qasim said that constitutional amendments must be approved through an extraordinary parliament sitting, which is the previous procedure.

The Maldives Constitution of 2008 turned 16 years old on Wednesday, which Qasim highlighted while adding that it is significantly easier to amend the constitution now compared to the previous procedure.

Qasim called for a stronger mechanism on the process to limit instances of abuse of power.

The MP reiterated the importance of reverting back to the previous procedure and said the current system could enable parties that enjoy parliament's supermajority to exploit their authority.

Qasim, one of the oldest serving MPs in the parliament, had been a sitting lawmaker when the current Maldives Constitution was passed and implemented in 2008.

As per current law, constitutional amendments require three-fourths of the parliament's MPs' approval.