Democrats change tune; urges constitutional referendum delay
The Democrats had initially advocated for a constitutional referendum before the runoff.
The Democrats, who had been calling for a public referendum on changing the system of governance from presidential to parliament as soon as possible, arguing that the most appropriate time to change the system would be between the first and second rounds of the presidential election, have changed their tune, calling now for a postponement.
All Democrats who spoke in the parliament on Tuesday said they would like to see a new date set for a constitutional vote instead of a hasty one.
The Elections Commission (EC) had earlier said it was trying to hold a constitutional vote on the 29th of this month, but it needed more time to prepare for the vote and would inform the parliament later on the earliest possible date.
According to the letter, the EC needs adequate time to raise public awareness about the constitutional vote, compile a register of voters and arrangements for filing complaints about the vote.
Most of the members who spoke in Tuesday's sitting agreed with the EC's letter. Instead of taking a constitutional vote in a hurry, the members said such a vote should not be taken until the people are made aware of it and everyone is fully informed.
The same was with The Democrats who were working hard to submit a constitutional vote resolution to the Parliament and take it as soon as possible.
Speaking on behalf of the party, Henveiru West MP Hassan Latheef said the people should think deeply about the important issues in the two systems before a vote.
According to him:
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The validity of the vote will be assured later, if the people are fully informed of both systems
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The work of the parliament was delayed in various ways
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Much of the public awareness work remains to be done; the parties also have a lot of work to do
“After taking all that into consideration, I think it is important that we consider re-setting a date,” he said.
Hassan Latheef's motion was responded to by the Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammed Nasheed, who presided on Tuesday:
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The EC said it would announce a date for the polls as soon as possible after completing all the work related to the referendum polls
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Therefore, the date of the vote will be determined by the members and an agreement between the EC
Galolhu North MP Eva Abdulla also supported Hassan Latheef's remarks.
“We haven’t had any attempt to discuss the system, and to reach out to the people about the system by a political party yet, and we haven’t done it through the media or any institution,” said Eva, who has spearheaded the founding of The Democrats.
According to Eva:
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Political parties also need to have discussions about constitutional voting; there should be talk between leaders and members within the party
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The presidential election has also prevented the parties from doing what they should have done with the constitutional vote
Despite the parliament resolution calling for a constitutional vote before October 30, The Democrats had initially advocated for a constitutional vote before the runoff.
With the Democrats' proposal, the public had expressed concern that a constitutional vote cannot be held in 10 days. Even then, the people noted:
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Before a constitutional vote, the differences between the two systems should be compared and the people should be made aware of the advantages and disadvantages
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The two systems should be debated and detailed information should be provided to the people
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A constitutional vote should be done properly, not rushed; it is irresponsible to rush such a national issue
Responding to the concerns of the people, The Democrat’s presidential candidate’s running mate Hussein Amr had said he would conduct a campaign to provide the people with the information they need within 10 days.
