Parliament on Monday endorsed Mohamed Zahid as the President of the Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) and Abdul Rahman Salah Rasheed as its Vice President.
The duo nominated by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu last week, were endorsed by 68 lawmakers voting in favour of Zahid while Abdul Rahman Salah received 69 votes during Monday’s sitting.
Under the recent amendments to the Elections Commission Act, President Dr Muizzu is mandated to appoint the President and Vice President of the ECM out of the five members subject to Parliament endorsement.
The Parliamentary Independent Institutions Committee had earlier signed off on President Muizzu’s nominations for the ECM President and Vice President.
Both Zahid and Abdul Rahman Salah were the latest appointments to the ECM.
The two posts were vacated after the Parliament passed to dismiss ECM Vice President Ali Nashath and Member Mohamed Asif following widespread allegations of corruption and abuse of power.
The nominations of Zahid and Salah were approved by the Parliament during an extraordinary sitting on 15 January and were subsequently appointed to the ECM by President Dr Muizzu on 26 January.