All three sitting members of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) have submitted their resignation, amid the dismissal motion launched against them at the Parliament of the Maldives.
The Parliamentary Committee on Independent Institutions had passed the decision to dismiss the incumbent members of ACC on December 26. The three members who had remained in the commission until this decision, President Mariyam Shiuna, Vice President Fathimath Anoola and member Aishath Abdulla, resigned following the decision. Two other members, Ibrahim Shakeel and Ali Ashraf, had resigned from the commission upon the commencement of the dismissal motion at the parliament.
The parliament had commenced proceedings to dismiss ACC members, citing their failure to complete the investigation of cases submitted to the commission. The ACC members were given the chance to provide a written response to the dismissal motion, in which they highlighted the difficulties they have faced such as the lack of staff, inadequate budget and concerns regarding the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO).
However, the parliament committee rejected the response by ACC, noting the response was submitted after the deadline given to submit a response had expired. The committee also noted the issues highlighted by ACC in the response had already been discussed and addressed before.
The parliament committee noted the current members of ACC had been summoned to the committee 9 times in the two and a half years since their appointment, and were given multiple chances to meet the deadlines set to complete the investigation of cases. However, the committee noted ACC failed to achieve any significant progress despite the multiple deadlines given to complete cases.