Because Dr Munavvar, with his sharp legal skills, knew that the constitution of Maldives did not have a provision for political parties. He had the vision that the constitution had to be changed before parties are formed. Today the political parties of Maldives are not functioning because the constitution does not give any support for the parties.
Dr Munavvar gave an interview to Washington Times in which he told why he did not support a multi-party system with the current constitution.
Speaking of the incident, the President claims that it was endangering national unity. “The multi-party system,” he warns, “may lead to the division of the country.” He emphasizes that Parliament voted on the issue at his request, and denied it by 43 votes to five. “People decided it was not the right time yet to have political parties,” he says.
Attorney General Munavvar, also a Member of Parliament, claims that a multi-party system would necessitate a constitutional amendment. “The Electoral Commission must be independent, and so must the Elections Commissioner - in such a system one must ensure that they can only be appointed with the consent of Parliament.” He says change is possible with the present system: “If we have the present constitution and political parties, we are finished: a party is never going to agree to change the constitution. Right now, it can happen.”
While not forbidden by law, the President officially discourages political parties on the grounds that they are inappropriate to the homogeneous nature of society. Minister of Transport Ilyas Ibrahim, speaking in his capacity as a Member of Parliament, a post he has held since 1975, agrees. He says that the competitive advantage of a multi-party democracy in the Maldives cannot be immediately realized because of the characteristics of the nation: its size, and its people’s inexperience in political debate. “We are not mature enough to have this kind of discussion,” he says.
