Aishath Azima Shakoor, the former Attorney General and a prominent legal scholar, has praised the decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the validity of an anti-defection amendment to the Constitution, describing the move as a pivotal development for the nation's constitutional framework.
The ruling affirms that parliamentary members forfeit their seats if they change political parties, a measure the court determined is not unconstitutional. The judicial challenge was initially brought by Ali Hussain, the former member of Parliament for Kendhoo, who petitioned the judiciary to strike down the amendment. Hussain argued that penalising lawmakers with the loss of their legislative seats for leaving or being expelled from their political factions breached the constitution.
The court dismissed this argument, concluding the provision aligns with the nation's constitutional architecture. "In my assessment, this ruling represents a highly appropriate decision," Azima Shakoor stated on the PSM News programme 'Raajje Miadhu', noting the intervention resolved critical questions regarding the legal structure.
Azima Shakoor observed that the system contains attributes immune to parliamentary modification, regardless of a governing majority’s size. "The ruling finalised in the Maldives today does not alter the fundamental framework of the Constitution," she said. According to her, the Chief Justice’s majority opinion establishes intrinsic characteristics that the parliament is powerless to amend, including the sovereignty of the citizens, the Islamic faith, national identity, and independent autonomy.