Maldives parliament is seeking interested candidates to replace long serving parliament secretary general Ahmed Mohamed who suddenly stepped down following the February 1 top court order which plunged the country into fresh political chaos.
The deputy secretary general has been filling in since February 4.
Parliament secretariat in an announcement asked candidates to formally submit interest before next Monday. The criteria for the post include a legal educational background and be over 25 years of age. The candidate must not have served a jail sentence for a criminal offence more than 12 months and if so, three years need to have lapsed since the sentence had been served.
The duties of a secretary general include managing the administrative functions of parliament and to provide assistance to the parliament speaker and lawmakers.
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.
President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom on February 5 had declared 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.
