Opposition motion to disclose political staff numbers thrown out
Meekail said the President has used his constitutional authority to appoint people to political positions to an unlimited extent beyond what the agencies need.
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By
Aishath Maha
Maldives Democratic Party (MDP)’s emergency motion seeking to make it mandatory for the government to disclose the number of political positions and the expenditure incurred by state-owned companies on salaries has been rejected by the Parliament.
The matter was moved by Galolhu South MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem.
The opposition expressed concern that a large number of political employees have been appointed in the run-up to the parliamentary elections, although the President said after winning the presidential election that the number of political employees in the government will not exceed 700. The HRCM issued a report during the parliamentary elections, noting this.
However, the government is yet to announce the figures.
56 out of 68 members present voted against the debate. 11 members voted in favour. 64 members participated in the vote.
In the case, Meekail said the President has used his constitutional authority to appoint people to political positions to an unlimited extent beyond what the agencies need. The case further states:
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Government-owned companies have hired unlimited numbers of employees, which has increased the amount of money they have to spend and made it difficult for them to run
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The Public Accounts Committee asked the Finance Ministry to find out the number of people recruited for political posts, but even the parliamentary committee was denied
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This undermines the constitutional duty of Parliament to hold the government accountable
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This is an obstruction of the exercise of the right to information.
