President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has expressed disappointment that the parliament approved only eight out of the total 23 bills submitted to the parliament by the government.
Speaking at the event held on Thursday night to conclude main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)'s campaign for the parliamentary election, President Solih said the new government began administration with high hopes of resolving issues faced by the people and fulfilling their needs. The government began administration with the vision of a revolutionary change to serve the people. However, this can only be achieved with the support and cooperation of the parliament, noted the president, stressing that MDP's visionary Agenda19 is a legal framework that would bring about the desired changes to the country.
The president said the role of the parliament has to be perfected in order to assure the rights of the people, and noted that it is imperative that the parliament possesses integrity and honesty, and is free from transgressions and influences.
"Since taking my oath as the president, I have sent 23 bills to the parliament until now. Only eight out of 23 bills were approved. This is not what I had hoped to achieve", said President Solih.
The President reiterated that his most important promise to the people was to get justice for the families that have suffered at the hands of tyranny and violence, investigating suspicious deaths and enforced disappearances and recovering state funds that were lost to corruption. However, the bills that were submitted at the parliament to grant authorities to the presidential commissions that were established to fulfill these promises were not approved, he said.
"In order to go forward as a country together, it is imperative for us to do this. The day I swore in as President, I established presidential commissions and send to the parliament to approve the authorities I want to grant to these commissions. However, theses bills still remain unapproved, this is a huge challenge that we have had to face", said President Solih.
The commissions were established after taking into consideration the current situation of the Maldives, with investigative authorities having become politicized in the recent years, and the trust placed in these authorities by the people being lost, he said further.
"What this tells us is that even if we have a parliament majority by name, we are facing obstacles in fulfilling the vows we have made to the people. Therefore, I want to stress that I would like for the next parliament to be made up of members who are familiar with our policies, and fully support it", said President Solih.
Concluding his speech, the President further said all candidates representing MDP in the parliamentary election are members who would fully support his pledges if elected. He urged everyone to vote for MDP, to vote for justice in Saturday's parliamentary election.
Photo: MDP
