People’s Majlis Speaker Mohamed Nasheed has stated that he intends run in the forthcoming 2023 presidential election to transform the government structure into a parliamentary system.
In response to a question concerning his future political career and transitioning to a parliamentary system posed during an interview with India’s The Hindu newspaper, Nasheed stated that the majority of the 2008 Constitution was mostly intended for a parliamentary form of government.
But he claimed that at the final stage, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom decided to hold a public referendum and institute a presidential system.
He went on to say that the Constitution, which had been in effect for the previous 13 years, was riddled with obvious contradictions.
Nasheed added that talks with the president are ongoing to find an amicable solution to amending the Constitution, and that his plan to run in the MDP’s presidential primary race is also linked to the transition to a parliamentary system.
“Even if I do [run for president] that would be to change to a parliamentary system. My rationale for any political contest would be to get a mandate to change. It might be the referendum, it might be the presidential elections, whatever I do, it would be an attempt to get a mandate to change,” he told The Hindu on Sunday.
While revealing that he is not planning any future political moves, Nasheed stated that he has accomplished much and that much more has to be done. He added that the Maldives’ governance system is getting better in a sustainable way.
“I believe that once we have the fundamentals laid, it is not so much about my political future, but the political future of this country,” he said.
Nasheed expressed his desire to be Prime Minister and to lead the country in a message written to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and his cabinet ministers in April. He also asked to cancel the next Presidential Election in 2023 and instead create the government through the People’s Majlis.
In response, President Solih stated a change in the system of government is only possible through a public referendum.
In a 2007 public referendum on the form of government, either parliamentary or presidential, 62 percent of the votes were cast in support of a presidential system.
