Former Supreme Court Justice Husnu Al Suood has asked for a national debate on important changes to the 2008 Constitution.Suood, who helped draft the Constitution and later served as a Supreme Court judge, listed 12 key issues that need open discussion. His call comes as former President Mohamed Nasheed and Fayyaz Ismail also push for reforms.
Here are the main points Suood raised:
- A President without majority support in Parliament often faces problems in doing his job and lives under the threat of impeachment. Suood asked if the Nasheed-Fayyaz proposal can solve this issue.
- Review the “anti-defection” rule that forces an MP to leave his seat if his party expels him.
- Set a fixed limit of 60 members for the People’s Majlis to stop it from growing bigger.
- Redraw parliamentary constituencies for better representation.
- Introduce a “Recall Vote” so people can remove the President, MPs, or Supreme Court judges if they fail in their duties.
- Amend Article 115 to limit the President’s political appointments to a maximum of 200.
- Stop state-owned companies from doing political work. They should only do their main jobs.
- Ban MPs from running businesses or holding commercial interests while in office.
- Stop MPs from taking extra salaries, allowances, or gifts beyond their official pay.
- Reform the Judicial Service Commission to protect its independence.
- Improve how independent state institutions are set up and their leaders appointed.
- Bring back atoll councils to manage the atolls properly.
Suood’s ideas aim to fix problems in the current presidential system, reduce political fights, and make institutions cleaner and stronger.
Nasheed and Fayyaz suggest a bigger change. They want to split the President’s role into two: a Head of Government (like a Prime Minister) elected by the people and answerable to Parliament, and a Head of State chosen by Parliament to protect the Constitution. Both sides agree on some points, such as limiting the size of Parliament and giving more power to the people through recall or public votes. But Suood focuses more on fixing the present system, while Nasheed-Fayyaz want a new hybrid model.
The 2008 Constitution brought multi-party democracy to Maldives, but many now see weaknesses in how it works in practice. Suood’s call for calm and inclusive debate is important for the country’s future stability.
