Not a single bill passed for 3 months in Maldives’ new Parliament

The Maldives’ newly elected Parliament under the revised Constitution wound up the first session of three months -- without passing a single bill.

Newly sworn in House following its Parliamentary elections on May 9, comprising 77 members were seen bogged down in endless debates, compromising the assembly’s prime duty -- passing bills.

Pinning the blame on the Opposition Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) claiming majority of seats in Parliament, President Mohamed Nasheed faulted an opposition backed Bill on Ex-presidents, for its failure.

Nasheed alleged the bill was largely meant to protect DRP Leader and Ex-President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. DRP Deputy Leader Thasmeen Ali hit back, attributing the failure to “poor quality of bills” drafted.

Midst the blame game, former Information Minister and South Kulhudufushi member Mohamed Nasheed explained changes in procedure if at all to expedite the passage of bills.

Writing in his personal blog, Nasheed who is a legal expert lamented the absence of a system where parties can distribute the time accordingly to debate a bill.

“Even though the parliament is composed of political parties, a system is still lacking, where parties are able to distribute the duration of debate amongst various parties to highlight their issues or concerns in a non-repetitive manner,” he says.

There is “no way to stop the debate, either until all wishing to speak have completed their turns, or time allocated for the entire debate has exhausted,” he explains.

Once a bill reaches the Committee stage, Nasheed calls for a practice where Parliamentarians in the committee do not have to re-write the bill. Instead, if parliamentary staff attached to that committee can submit a draft revised of the preliminary debate, “the committee could actually save time to polish up the already revised version,” he notes.

He also recommends prior consultation between parties outside the House when names for positions and commissions are presented for Parliamentary approval, to cut down on the time of debating.

Nasheed stresses post-committee debate of a bill must be curtailed to the “bare necessities” as a committee is necessary a “miniscule version of the full Parliament.”

The need for stop taking endless points of order too is a must, he says.

Finally, during the live telecast of Parliament, members tend to “communicate to the sitting rooms” than debating the bill, delaying the process, Nasheed says turning the assembly to a “madhouse of performers.”

Despite the Maldives’march towards a new era of democracy with its newly ratified Constitution, much of its content cannot be implemented until necessary laws are passed in Parliament.

Amongst the key bills being debated in Parliament are Public Health Protection bill, Privatisation Bill, Decentralisation Bill and the Bill on Ex-Presidents.

- Asian Tribune -