Parliament has passed the amendment bill of the Prison and Parole Act which will revoke the former President Mohamed Nasheed from the presidency of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
The Amendment Bill was passed with 40 votes in favor from 60 MP’s present in today’s proceeding. Only two MP’s voted against the bill. The remaining MP’s have not voted. The vote on the bill was taken without any further amendments.
Earlier، President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom requested the parliament to review the Amendment Bill and sent back the bill on amendment to the Prison and Parole Act without ratification.
The Amendment Bill now states that inmates have the right to belong to political parties and organizations while serving the sentence however، they cannot be in any senior position of a political party.
If the President decides to ratify the bill، the former President Mohamed Nasheed who is jailed for 13 years due to terrorism charges will lose MDP presidency but will remain as an MDP member.