The government controlled parliament on Monday accepted the highly controversial draft anti-defection law to the parliament seeking to disqualify lawmakers elected on party tickets if they quit, change or are dismissed from the party.
According to the draft law, lawmakers elected on party tickets would lose their respective seats if they quit, change or are dismissed from the party. However, the law would not apply to independent members if they sign for a particular party.
The law also does not apply to lawmakers for violating party whip-lines or are penalized by a party for disciplinary violations.
The draft law submitted by the chief government lawmaker Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik was accepted by 35 votes amid the continued boycott by opposition lawmakers.
However, several government lawmakers had voiced their concerns during the debate where most MPs had objected to giving the country's electoral watchdog the mandate to draft the regulations under the new law.
Nihan while presenting the draft law said the concerns would be addressed during its review by the parliament independent bodies' committee.
The draft law comes in the wake of a top court stay order the relevant institutions to hold off on the reinstatement of a dozen opposition lawmakers disqualified over an earlier anti-defection ruling.
The island nation has been embroiled in fresh political turmoil after the Supreme Court on February 1 ordered the immediate release of jailed political leaders including self-exiled former president Mohamed Nasheed.
The court had also annulled its anti-defection ruling and ordered the country's electoral watchdog to re-instate the dozen rebel government lawmakers disqualified over the ruling. The Supreme Court said the anti-defection ruling was issued as a temporary solution to the constitutional dispute case filed by the state but insisted that the relevant authorities have failed to bring to effect an anti-defection law specified in the ruling.
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on February 5 had declared a 15 day state of emergency after his last ditch attempt to convince the top court to revoke the order failed, purged the Supreme Court by arresting two judges and the remaining political leaders and ultimately had the order revoked.
After the original state of emergency expired, president Yameen had got the parliament contentiously extend it by another 30 days.
