Independent candidates will lose their parliamentary seats if they switch the political party they were members of at the time of the Supreme Court ruling, says the State.
Dhidhdhoo MP Abdul Latheef Mohamed has filed a case with Supreme Court asking it to rule that he can still retain his parliamentary seat.
During the hearing in the case this Wednesday, Latheef’s lawyer, Hisaan Hassan said Latheef was elected to the parliament as an independent candidate, and that he joined Progressive
Party of Maldives (PPM) after he won his parliament seat.
She also said Latheef left the party before Supreme Court issued its ruling that any parliamentarian elected a candidate of a particular political party will lose his/her seat if the parliamentarian leaves the political party of switches parties.
The State argued that Latheef had been a member of PPM when Supreme Court issued its ruling, and that he was removed from the party after the ruling.
It said the Supreme Court ruling was therefore applicable to Latheef as well.
It also said the purpose of the Supreme Court ruling was to rein in the frequent switching of political parties.