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.
6 comments:
If Munavvar thinks that we will be finished if we have the current constitution and political parties, why is he the president of a political party? Shouldn't he resign? Doesn't this show that he doesn't have any integrity?
riyaasee garaarakun party hudha kureema munavvarahvess adhi ehenmeehunavess party thakuge harakaitheriveveyna..miee integrity akaibeheykameh noonenu..
he can be a president cox majority of the members want him to be da president..so respect da majority's view..if u cant tolerate dat u can't talk abt democracy...
Maumoon said multi-party system will create divisions in the country. Munavvar said we will be finished if we have multi-party system with current constitution. He said change is possible without introducing parties. Ilyas said we are not mature enough to have this type of discussions. Three people giving all types of excuses to continue their grip on power. Dr Munavvar for president? No way.
HE DIDNT SUPPORT ANYTHING TO HAPPEN SIMPLY BECAUSE HE WAS A LASY GUY WHO DIDNT WANT TO DO ANY WORK.BESIDES HE WAS DRUNK MOST OF THE TIME THEN.
ronically, the person who vocally argued against forming political parties is today the President of MDP, a party formed under the current constitution, the same party that applied for registration and failed in 2001. Now Dr Munavvar has set his eyes on becoming the President of Maldives with an MDP ticket. He makes some people believe that he is a champion of democracy and pluralism. In reality, he is a corrupt politician and should never be elected for a public office in Maldives again. Because of Dr Munavvar, the road to pluralism in Maldives was turbulent and it was only in 2005 that political parties were at last formed in the Maldives, thanks to the sacrifices of reformist activists in the Maldives.
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