Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has stated that major amendments need to be made to the Constitution of Maldives.
In a written statement, Speaker Nasheed said the constitution has brought significant positive changes to national governance, especially by allowing the candidate with the most votes to be elected as the president. The speaker went on to provide details on the elections and the governments that were elected in the past 13 years, adding the political influences in the country are based on the multi-party system and that parliamentarians are elected based on their representative parties. Naseed reiterated that these are positive changes but said parliamentarians find it difficult to focus on anything other than their constituencies. As such, he said many countries have found it useful to include national list parliamentarians, who are appointed without having to contest in elections to focus on national-level issues. He proposed that the Parliament should also include national list members.
Furthermore, Speaker Nasheed said establishing a multi-party system has expanded the level of representation and the country now needs parliamentarians that represent all citizens, adding that parliamentarians who represent a constituency will only work in accordance with the wishes of their own constituents. He also highlighted the importance of having more female parliamentarians and said amendments to the constitution could include designating a specific number of seats in the national list for female members.
In conclusion, Speaker Nasheed said the proposed changes need to be brought to the Parliament in order to increase the level of parliamentary representation and allow citizens to live a better life.