Case filed with High Court to revoke several articles of Anti-Defection Act

A case has been filed with High Court seeking to revoke several articles in the Anti-Defection Act which grants legal enforcement for lawmakers to lose their parliament seats upon floor crossing.

According to the High Court, the case was filed by a private individual, Mohamed Anees, sometime this afternoon.

High Court said it was not presently clear on the specific articles of the Act which the complainant is requesting to have revoked. The Court also noted that it has yet to decide whether to accept or reject the case.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu ratified the Anti-Defection Act back in April.

Apart from lawmakers, the new law also governs atoll and island councilors, members of Women's Development Committees as well; all of whom would be required to resign from their political positions should they switch their political parties.

The Act specifies three circumstances under which such individuals must resign. They include:

• Voluntary resignation from the political party through which the member was elected for the political designation
• Registering to a different political party (switching parties)
• An independently elected individual signing for a political party

Besides this, the law also specifies two situations where a recall vote is mandatory, which include;

• Dismissal or removal from the party from which the member was elected for the designation
• Independent members signing for political parties

According to the law, if a member wins the recall vote, they can switch their parties, but would lose their position if they do not receive adequate recall votes.

The specification in the Act that the lawmaker should resign has triggered legal questions as it fails to specify the course of action if the lawmaker refuses to resign from their post over any of the aforementioned reasons.

For the seats vacated owing to defection or floor crossing, the Elections Commission (EC) is mandated to hold by-elections to elect new members as per the law, and the members who lose their seats have the right to contend as well.

During the 18th parliamentary assembly, an Anti-Defection Act was passed as well, but during the 2018 political turmoil, the same assembly annulled the law.

After the most recent presidential election, 14 members previously aligned with MDP exited the party following which the party stressed the importance of an anti-defection law.