Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has revealed he will only support candidates in the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) national congress election who favor bringing about a parliamentary system in the country.
MDP has published the list of candidates for its national congress election scheduled for September 25, following which Nasheed said he will only support the candidates who favor the parliamentary system.
Meanwhile, some members of MDP have begun signing a petition which calls for immediate constitutional amendments to bring about a parliamentary system. The MDP members have stated the petition will be submitted to the president and the Parliament of the Maldives. Some parliamentarians including Mohamed Rasheed and Ibrahim Muiz have signed the petition.
Speaker Nasheed has previously expressed his wish to establish a parliamentary system and become prime minister. However, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated the current system of governance established in the Maldives can only be changed by a public referendum.
Before the ratification of the new constitution, a public referendum was conducted in 2007 to decide on a system of governance to be followed in the Maldives. A total of 95,619 people voted to have a presidential system, while 58,504 people voted for a parliamentary system.