The five lawmakers who did not file their financial statements within the stipulated timeframe have filed their financial statements during the extension provided.
Under the Parliament’s standing orders, lawmakers must submit their financial statements one year after being sworn in. Although May 28 marked one year since members of the 20th parliamentary assembly took office, the deadline for submitting their financial statements was set for August 31, three months later. This is as the standing orders require lawmakers to submit their annual financial statements by August 31st of each calendar year.
The five lawmakers who did not submit their financial statements by the deadline are:
Mahchangolhi Central Constituency MP Ahmed Zameer
Maafannu North MP Mohamed Nazim
Maafannu West Constituency MP Mohamed Musthafa Ibrahim
Kurendhoo Constituency MP Mohamed Shamin Habeeb
Feydhoo North MP Ismail Nizar
If a lawmaker fails to submit their financial statement by the deadline, they will receive a written notice requiring submission within 15 days. If they still fail to comply, they will be named on the parliament floor. They will not be permitted to participate in any sittings until the financial statement is submitted, and their salary will be deducted daily based on their per-day pay rate until submission.
According to the Parliament’s website, all five members have submitted their financial statements as of present, within the 15-day extension granted.
Notably, Nizar, in a now-deleted Facebook post, called to expedite the controversial media control bill currently in the Parliament after media reported him among five lawmakers who have not disclosed their financial statements to parliament.
Article 68 of Parliament’s Standing Orders requires parliamentarians to disclose the financial information not just of themselves, but also their spouses and any children under the age of 18. However, the declarations are publicized after excluding the information on the finances of spouses and children.
Information required to be completed in the financial statements include:
Accounts of property and money in Maldives and abroad
Information on business interests
Accounts of debt and liabilities
If they have another job, the responsibilities of that job
Notably, the financial statement had triggered public outrage as it revealed lawmakers who are already criticized for high salaries receiving huge sums of money in “gifts”,
In this regard, it was revealed that Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla received close to MVR 1 million in “gifts” from benefactors in the one year since he was elected to head the Parliament. South Hulhumale’ MP Dr. Mohamed Shamheed also received close to MVR 1 million in gifts.
Former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoon has alleged that these “gifts” are, in actuality, bribes.