Yameen: Parliament majority isn’t a license to make laws as you please

Gaining a majority in the Parliament isn’t a license to make laws at will and nor does it provide room to make laws that encroach on civil rights, says former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, criticizing the People’s National Congress (PNC) administration which he once backed.

At a rally held last week by his party, the People’s National Front (PNF), Yameen claimed that multiple parliamentarians from the PNC were unhappy with the recent amendments to the Foreign Currency, and alluded to a “secret revolution” against President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s administration from within the Parliament.

The allegations were slammed by Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla, who, during a PNC rally on Saturday, claimed that Yameen has no influence over the Parliament, and that PNC parliamentarians, who hold a supermajority in the Parliament, remained a “solid wall” behind President Muizzu.

The exchange of words continued on Sunday night, as Yameen criticized the government and the Parliament during a PNF townhall meeting.

Yameen said that PNC’s majority in the Parliament does not give them the right to make laws however they please, and nor does it offer any room to create laws that infringe on rights of citizens.

“Having a majority in the Parliament does not mean making laws at will. It does not provide room to use laws to infringe on personal liberties,” he said.

Yameen also expressed deep concern over the state of the Maldivian economy, claiming that the provision of public services was at a complete standstill, with the budget for Aasandha exhausted, people lacking access to the healthcare and medicine they need, and the dollar exchange rate at an all-time high.

He said that President Muizzu had failed to resolve any of these issues, and claimed the administration lacked anyone capable of engaging in a proper debate with academics to defend it.