Court can’t oust president: Maldives attorney-general
male — The Maldives’ attorney general warned the country’s Supreme Court on Sunday that a move to unseat the president would be unconstitutional, amid a political crisis that has left the government in chaos since late last week.
Attorney General Mohamed Anil said at a news conference that he had heard “rumours that the Supreme Court is going to order the impeachment” of President Yameen Abdul Gayoom.
He said that the president can be ousted only through a vote in parliament, and that police and security forces would not obey an impeachment order from an “illegitimate set of people.”
Mohammed Nasheed, the Indian Ocean archipelago’s exiled former president and Yameen’s main rival, responded angrily on Twitter,
Security services must uphold the constitution and serve the Maldivian people.” Mohammed Nasheed
saying that comments from Anil and other officials were “tantamount to a coup.”
“Security services must uphold the constitution and serve the Maldivian people,” Nasheed tweeted.
Under Maldivian law, a vote for impeachment removes a president from office.
The crisis, which has included repeated rounds of clashes between police and opposition protesters, began when the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that that all politicians opposed to Yameen, including Nasheed, be released. Nasheed has been living in exile in Britain since 2016 after being given asylum when he traveled there on medical leave from prison.
In addition to ordering the release of the political prisoners, the court also reinstated 12 lawmakers who had been ousted for switching allegiance to the opposition. When those lawmakers return, Yameen’s Progressive Party of the Maldives will lose its majority in the 85-member parliament, which can result in the legislative body functioning as a rival power to the president.
On Saturday, police arrested two lawmakers upon their arrival from overseas. Ilham Ahmed and Abler Mohamed were among the 12 who were reinstated by the Supreme Court. —