While an amendment has been submitted on Thursday which seeks to introduce MVR 25,000 allowance to former vice presidents, only Faisal Naseem, who served as the vice president during the last MDP administration, is eligible for this allowance.
The government-backed amendment sponsored by Hulhudhoo MP Mohamed Shahid proposes to scrap MVR 175,000 in allowances to former presidents from the state budget to cover office expenses and introduce MVR 25,000 as allowance to former vice presidents.
Unlike former presidents who receive substantial financial and non-financial benefits, including security, under the existing laws, former vice presidents are not entitled to benefits.
According to the amendment, a former vice president will only be eligible for the allowance if they complete a five-year presidential term in office and have not been convicted of a criminal offence.
As a result, only Faisal among the former vice presidents is eligible for the allowance under these provisions.
In this regard, Dr. Waheed Hassan Manik who had served as the vice president during former president Mohamed Nasheed’s administration had assumed presidency following Nasheed’s resignation. As such, Waheed did not complete a five-year term in office. However, Waheed, who was the president for some two years, receives the benefits entitled by former presidents.
Mohamed Waheed Deen, who served as Waheed’s vice president, had only been in office for some two years as well. There were three vice presidents during former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom’s five-year term: Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, Ahmed Adeeb and Abdulla Jihad, in that order.
Neither of them had completed five years in office. Moreover, Adeeb has been convicted of several criminal offenses.
Notably, former presidents continue to receive benefits although they have not fulfilled a full five-year term.
Faisal is the only vice president who had completed a five-year term since the new constitution came into force. While ties between other vice presidents and presidents had soured some time into their term, Faisal had maintained good ties with then-president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.