Deputy Speaker of Parliament Moosa Manik has stated it is not necessary for the Speaker of Parliament to fit the criteria required to be the President of Maldives. The deputy speaker made the statement amid concerns about the election of Qasim Ibrahim as the Speaker of Parliament; a speaker that does not fit the criteria of a president.
Deputy Speaker Moosa Manik maintained the parliament speaker only has to fit the criteria set for a member of parliament and that would be, to be of 18 years of age or above. He said any member of parliament is eligible to become the speaker or the deputy speaker of Parliament. Moosa also said it is not necessary for the speaker to take over as head of state in the event of the positions of the president and the vice president becoming vacant.
Article 124 subsections (a) and (b) of the Maldivian Constitution state either the speaker or the deputy speaker elected by a parliament resolution can carry out the duties of the office of the President. The concerns regarding Qasim's election as speaker of parliament comes in reference to Article 124 subsections (a) of the Maldivian Constitution that states in the event of the absence or temporary incapacity of both the president and the vice president to carry out the duties of office of the president, the duties shall be carried out, in order of priority, by the speaker of parliament, or by the deputy speaker of parliament, or by a member of the parliament elected by a resolution of the until the president or vice president is able to resume the duties of office. Subsection (c) of the same article states the qualifications of office for any person temporarily assuming the office of the president shall be the same as those for the president, while the same constitution states under Article 109 that a person elected as president shall be below 65 years of age.
Meanwhile, Parliamentarian Ibrahim Falah has announced he would be submitting a bill, to annul the provision, which sets an age limit for qualification to the position of President of Maldives. Falah said the amendment which was endorsed in 2015, took the situation of the country at the time into account. However, he added the changes brought at the time to the eligibility criteria of a Vice President, would not be annulled.