Supreme Court of Maldives has concluded all hearings in the cases submitted regarding the validity of the membership of parliamentarians Ilham Ahmed, Saudhullah Hilmy, Mohamed Musthafa and Ali Shah.
In the hearing held on Tuesday regarding the validity of parliamentarian Ilham Ahmed, the bench questioned the attorney of the Elections Commission of Maldives on various aspects of the cases. The bench asked the attorney to state the provisions in party charter of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the Political Parties Act, which declare how a member can be dismissed from the political party.
In response, the lawyer stated Article 13 of the Political Parties Act and Clause 20 of the PPM Party Charter. In response, the lawyer stated the four provisions in the party charter which states how a member of the party would lose his membership, including the provision which states a member would lose membership, upon request to be dismissed from the party.
When asked if there was any situation where a member would be dismissed immediately, the attorney responded it is possible under certain circumstances. On asked to define what such circumstances would be, the attorney said if one's membership in the party is an obstruction to carrying out their job, they would be dismissed from the party immediately.
Ilham's attorney asked the bench to declare that there was no basis to declare that Ilham has lost his seat at parliament. Although the hearings have come to a conclusion, the bench did not reveal when a verdict would be announced.
In Tuesday's hearing of the case submitted by parliamentarian Saudhullah Hilmy, his attorney accused the Elections Commission for acting in contradiction with Supreme Court verdicts and rulings. His attorney cited discrepancies regarding the date on which Saudhullah was removed from PPM and the reason the commission had given in declaring he had lost his seat at parliament.
Meanwhile, hearings have concluded in the cases filed by parliamentarians Abdulla Sinan and Abdulla Ahmed, Mohamed Musthafa and Ali Shah, with the Supreme Court to make an imminent verdict.
Furthermore, hearings of the cases filed by parliamentarians Hussain Shahudhee and Mohamed Abdulla have been scheduled for Thursday.