Amendment Proposed to Give Parliament Power to Appoint Elections Commission Members

The main opposition MDP has proposed an amendment to the law to give Parliament the power to appoint members to the Elections Commission (EC).

The amendment to the Elections Commission Act was moved by MDP MP Yoonus Ali, who said it was important that the parliament had the power to appoint members to the EC.

Under the current law, the President has the power to appoint members to the EC. However, the President can appoint a member only after the names of the candidates are sent to Parliament for approval.

The amendment to Article 4 of the Election Commission Act provides for the opening of nominations and the power to appoint members to the EC by examining the names of candidates and approving them by a majority of the House. Under this amendment, the President will have the role of appointing a person selected by Parliament.

The MDP has proposed such an amendment after the EC decided to appoint the current Secretary General Hassan Zakariya as a member following the expiry of the term of Ismail Habeeb, who was the Vice-President of the Commission.