10 candidates, including former BroadCom members, apply for Media Commission

10 candidates, including Safa Shafeeq, the former president of Maldives Broadcasting Commission (BroadCom) and other former commissioners, have applied to become members of the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission (MMBC) – a new commission created under a contentious new law that led to the dissolution of BroadCom and Maldives Media Council (MMC).

The 10 candidates are contesting for three out of seven seats in the MMBC. Among the candidates are Safa and two other former members of BroadCom - Moosa Rilwan and Aminath Sarahath Izzath – as well as Mohamed Faris Thaha, who had been among presidential nominees for the Human Rights Commission of Maldives (HRCM) but was voted down by the Independent Institutions Committee.

The 10 candidates:

• Safa Shafeeq
• Moosa Rilwan
• Aminath Sarahath Izzath
• Mohamed Faris Thaha
• Fathimath Fahmy
• Mohamed Farusath
• Ibrahim Mohamed
• Shehenaz Adnan
• Mohamed Samin
• Shafeega Naeem

The Independent Institutions Committee has been tasked with vetting these candidates.

The new media law was passed by the Parliament on September 16, and ratified by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu on September 18, despite appeals from both local and international organizations urging against enacting the new legislature over its potential implications for press freedom and free speech in the Maldives.

The seven-member MMBC is composed of three members appointed by the Parliament and four elected by registered medias – two of whom represent broadcasters and two who represent online medias. The legislative assembly is also empowered to appoint the commission’s chairperson. And all members, including those elected by medias, can be dismissed by the Parliament, in which the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) enjoys a supermajority.

Four candidates who applied to get elected to the commission automatically won their seats on September 7 after one of the only five candidates who applied dropped out of the race.

They are:

• Hussain Sageef, former president of MMC
• Zamath Ahmed Waheed, former member of BroadCom
• Simaha Naseem, a journalist at Vaguthu
• Abdul Azeez Ibrahim

While journalists continue to protest against the new law as a direct threat to press freedom and a crackdown on dissent, President Muizzu’s administration touts it as important legislature that protects people from defamation, disinformation and misinformation, and paves the path for accountability in the media field.