A bill to withdraw the membership of the Maldives from the Commonwealth has been submitted to the Parliament by Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP).
The bill was submitted on behalf of PPM by Gemanafushi constituency MP Ahmed Ilham while Vilufushi constituency MP Riyaz Rasheed represented DQP.
Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group (CMAG) had issued a warning to take stronger measures against the Maldives if the composition of the National Enquiry Commission established to investigate the events that led to the change in Government is not revised.
Speaking to the press after submitting the bill to the Parliament Riyaz explained that the action was taken as the Commonwealth was attempting to protect the interests of one party without determining the reality of the situation.
Riyaz further detailed that the principles of the Commonwealth was to act in accordance with the laws of a nation in question and accused the organization of violating its principles.
Ilham said that he did not believe that withdrawing from the Commonwealth was the best option but stressed that the decision to submit the bill was taken in consideration of the issues that the country might have to face in future.
The bill stipulates that the from 60 days of the ratification of the bill, Maldives would be withdrawn from the Commonwealth.
In addition, once the Maldives withdraws from the Commonwealth and wishes to rejoin later, it can only be done after authorization from a law passed by the Parliament.
More
4 comments
4 Comments
To have full access to the interactive features available in Haveeru Online please register or .