Supreme Court goes into recess with decision pending on case to annul anti-defection clauses

The Supreme Court has gone into a one-month recess with the decision pending on a key constitutional case filed earlier this week seeking to annul a contentious constitutional amendment that added anti-defection provisions to the Maldivian Constitution.

The constitutional amendment in question was submitted, passed and ratified in quick succession on November 18. It added three more circumstances where parliamentarians will lose their seat. They are:

• If a parliamentarian resigns from or is dismissed or expelled from the party they were elected on behalf of
• If a parliamentarian switches parties or is dismissed or expelled from a party
• If an independent parliamentarian joins a party

Former Kendhoo MP Ali Hussain, an attorney-at-law, filed a constitutional case with the top court on November 24, seeking to have the new provisions annulled.

However, the Supreme Court has announced it will be in recess for a one-month period from December 1 to January 1.

The court will not be holding any hearings during this period, except for those related to matters that the Constitution or laws require to be done within a specific timeframe.

Though the court will not be holding hearings during this period, it will continue administrative work, including registering cases.

The new constitutional provisions have drawn concern from the opposition, as well as members of the legal community.

Ali argues in his case that the constitutional amendment violate articles 4, 8, 26, 75 and 90 of the Constitution, which declare the powers of Maldivian citizens, the supremacy of the Constitution, the right to vote and run for office, and the functions and privileges of parliamentarians.