President to ratify on 30 th of this month

Friday, July 25th, 2008

Legal Reform Minister Mohamed Nasheed has said that President Gayoom has chosen 30 th of this month to ratify the revised constitution and that Leader of social liberal party (SLP) Ibrahim Ismail, one of the lead personalities who protested at door of the presidential palace, to force the president to ratify the constitution with delay, is aware of this fact.

Offering his views on the gathering Nasheed in his private blog wrote that Leader of SLP Ibra is fully aware of the issues related to the ratification of the revised constitution. Nasheed said Ibra being a member of the Core Group of Parliamentarians (CGP) knew of stop gap measures needed for the immediate aftermath of the launch of the revised constitution as it was discussed in the CGP meetings. Nasheed noted that it was with the blessing of the CGP of which Ibra was is an active member, that decision was taken to create , an enabling legislation for the orphaned rules; expedite the police bill; and consider the adoption of the criminal procedure code. The idea of working on the adoption of the criminal procedure code was later abandoned based upon the advice offered by Ibra, that the criminal procedure code could be created as a set of regulations and added to the schedule of enabling legislation.

“Those who led the way last night to the presidential palace knew very well that the president had chosen 30 July to ratify the constitution, and that he was giving time to the parliament to bring out the necessary stop gap legislations, and time for the administrative bodies to put the necessary mechanisms in place” wrote Nasheed in his blog.

“Definitely Ibrahim Ismail would know very well, where we are, what we plan to do, and when ratification is expected. In fact the phrase ’stop gap measures’ has been a phrase picked from his interventions on the subject in the core group of parliamentarians” Nasheed wrote saying that Ibra’s action in joining the demonstrations at the presidential palace only showed his hypocrisy.

Responding to the opposition’s claims that the president’s role in the ratification is a mere formality and does not have not have a choice but to ratify once the constitution is adopted Nasheed wrote that the president, as head of state, has the power to send back constitution to the Majlis for reconsideration in the same way as he has the power to send back any ordinary legislation.

Nasheed wrote that article 102 of the constitution gives the president 90 days either to ratify the document or send it back for reconsideration or propose any amendments he considers appropriate and that constitution can only be deemed ratified on the lapse of 90 days.

Openly criticizing the gathering of the opposition leaders, Nasheed wrote that leaders had used the mosque as a gathering point and careful planning and preparations were made well in advance. He said these are the same people who had given assurances of their support in expediting the process and for a smooth ratification process. Nasheed called the event ‘nothing but a major media event’ and ‘a true political spectacle’.

Leaders of the opposition Alliance maintained that they went to the presidential palace to seek an audience with the president as they had learnt that the president had decided to send back the revised constitution to the Majlis without ratification. Opposition leaders claimed their intention was to urge the president to ratify the constitution with out further delay and warn him against sending the document to the Special Majlis for reconsideration. Moreover they said that ratification of the constitution is not a legal process but a mere formality.

SLP leader Ibra claimed that it is already too late to ratify the constitution given the fact presidential election must be held before October 10 th under the Transitional Chapter. Opposition leaders have said that if the president delays or send it back to the Majlis for consideration they will ‘go for direct action’ to force the ratification.

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