Public wants MPs to lose seat for crossovers, survey shows
According to the survey, 43% believe that the Election Commission works independently, but 57% disagrees.
By
Shahudha Mohamed
A survey conducted by the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) has shown that many people believe that a member of Parliament who changes party after being elected as a candidate of a particular party should lose his seat.
The HRCM has recently conducted a survey to gather information about the upcoming parliamentary elections and to determine the public's opinion on the systemic issues related to the elections.
The commission on Tuesday released the results of the poll, which involved more than 1,000 respondents of both genders of different age groups from across the country, showing that 73% of respondents believe MPs who switch parties should lose their seats.
The results of the survey options are:
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Strongly agree: 47%
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Agree: 26%
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Neutral: 11%
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Disagree: 13%
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Strongly Disagree: 3%
According to the HRCM survey report, even during the commission's pre-election travel meetings, many people voiced that they believe that MPs should lose their seats if they change party.
Some reasons cited in the report for the public opinion:
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Many members of the current 19th Parliament have changed parties
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Members who changed party have been accused of corruption by politicians and journalists
Parliament passed the Anti-Defection Bill on Sunday, making it optional to lose one's seat in parliament, following the upheaval caused by such shifts within the parliament.
The bill includes three main circumstances in which a member must resign. They are:
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1-
After being elected on a party ticket, during the period of that election, to voluntarily resign from the elected party and submitting it to the Election Commission.
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2-
Being registered at the Election Commission under a party other than the elected party
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3-
An independent member signing up with a political party during the term in which he or she was elected
According to the bill, if any of the three circumstances occurs, the member shall "resign from membership". Since it says “resign”, it is seen as optional upon the MP and does not specify what will happen if he or she does not resign.
In addition to the belief that changing parties should result in loss of seat, the HRCM survey also sought public opinion on other issues related to the election.
Some of their interesting findings:
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68% think the number of MPs should be reduced
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63% believe there are few women in the current parliament; 9% believe women should not be in parliament
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More than 50% of respondents believe that people with disabilities should have the same chances as others to stand as candidates
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43% believe that the Election Commission works independently, but 57% do not
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59% of respondents said they were aware of the distribution of money and materials to influence the vote
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60% believe that voters should be eligible to vote in the constituency where they have a permanent address; 40% believe that voting should be allowed in a residential constituency.
