The Government has proposed amendments aimed at granting the President the authority to appoint the President and Vice-President of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) and the Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM).
The amendment to the Anti-Corruption Commission Act was presented by Parliamentarian Adam Zahir on behalf of the government, while the amendment to the Elections Commission Act was introduced by Parliamentarian Abdullah Shareef. These amendments seek to strengthen the operations of independent commissions and to streamline the appointment process for the President and Vice-President from among the appointed members of each commission.
Under the proposed amendments, the President and Vice-President of the commissions will be selected by the President from the existing members. The names of the nominees must then be submitted to Parliament for consideration and approval. Currently, the appointment of the President and Vice-President of both the ACC and ECM is determined through a voting process among commission members.
Presently, if the President of either commission wishes to resign, they are required to submit a resignation letter to the commission. Similarly, if the Vice-President intends to resign, they must inform the President of the Commission. The proposed amendments, however, stipulate that any resignation from the President or Vice-President of the commissions must be directed to the President of the Maldives.