Former president Mohamed Nasheed has stated that corrupt judges have to be exposed in order to reform the judiciary.
Also the leader of main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Nasheed said while addressing at a campaign event that the biggest acts of thievery in the Maldives are conducted by judges. However, Maldivians are unable to speak up against the crimes of the judges, noted Nasheed.
"Nobody is clearly stating this fact. All Maldivians need to expose these judges to bring about reform. Aything you are aware of, bring it to light, reveal what you know", urged Nasheed.
"If anyone is hesitant [to come forward], we will all be ruined. We all need to work together to bring about reform. Otherwise, our judges will remain corrupt", he added.
Nasheed further acknowledged that his statements could direct the resentment of judges towards him, however, he is adamant on bringing about reform of the judges, insisted Nasheed.
Although he does not believe replacing the existing judges would resolve the issue, Nasheed said a good system is integral to bring about change.
"Some people say what we need are characters with integrity, but that's not right. What we need is a system that would not allow any bad actions to take place even if a corrupt person is present. This is the system we need. We do not know of any good person with integrity, all we know are humans. We are all ordinary humans", said Nasheed.
Nasheed said the answer to establishing such a system is Agenda 19, MDP's propositions for the 19th parliament. The reason why an MDP majority is so important in the upcoming parliamentary election is to bring about the change that the country desires, said Nasheed.
