Parliament Speaker and former President of the Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, has said it is important to amend the presidential election regulations such that the majority vote winner gets elected without going through a second round of voting.
Nasheed, also the leader of the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), made the statement while speaking at a National Council meeting of the party on Thursday night.
Nasheed said while the system must be changed so that the candidate who receives the most votes gets elected as president, he said that it must be applied if the candidate receives over 30 percent of the total votes. If no candidates succeed in attaining the required percentage, a second-round must be held between the top two candidates, and the Constitution must be amended to state that, he said.
Nasheed said the amendment is essential as it would allow his party to remain in power.
'We need to change to a system where the candidate who receives the most votes wins the election. 'First past the post' voting system must be adopted. However, if the votes received do not cross 30 percent, the top candidates must go head to head in a second rounf. I am sure you all will agree that adopting this system through the Constitution would be beneficial. We need to listen and heed the peoples' call for MDP to remain in power always, for the next five years, and the five years after that,' Nasheed said.
Nasheed further said it is crucial to decide on the number of judges who sit on the Supreme Court bench. Noting that the number of judges changes with each administration, Nasheed said it is an obstruction to the path to justice.
Furthermore, Nasheed said the Constitution's chapter on decentralization is the smallest chapter in the Constitution. He said that the chapter needs further details added to it and said it is important to amend the chapter by adding the Parliament. He also said increasing the number of Parliament seats year on year is also a significant reason for high government expenditure.
Nasheed further said that other changes must also be adopted if the Maldives' government system changes from a presidential system to a parliamentary system. He added that MDP would always advocate changing the country's current government system.
'I do believe it is important to hold a Congress to decide to bring about the desired changes to the constitution,' Nasheed said.
