Speaker of Parliament and Leader of Jumhooree Party (JP), Qasim Ibrahim has urged Maldivians to not give a supermajority at Parliament to any one party.

Qasim said this while speaking at special event presenting JP tickets to Parliamentary hopefuls. He reiterated that we have already seen the consequences of one party gaining majority at Parliament. He raised the question as to whether we should truly wish to experience that again? Qasim said that if a single party should win majority at Parliament, Ministers should not face blame. He reiterated that the current Parliament has even now failed to make Ministers accountable.

The Speaker of Parliament said that if the ruling party acquires a majority at Parliament, no government entity will hold the Parliament responsible. Qasim noted that we have seen all of this take place, even before.

He said that the reason that there are claims that certain goals cannot be achieved without a majority at Parliament is due to being incapable of getting the jobs done. Qasim said that should events proceed this way, the cruelty faced by the people will be extreme, and said that salvation cannot be found. He added that there will be issues that are left unresolved as well. Qasim said that the ruling party gaining majority at Parliament ensures that the three powers that govern the state in fact becomes one.

Qasim indicated those that call to bring a centralized system of governance to Maldives. He said that such a change will not benefit or bring good to a place like Maldives. He said that in a republican system, it is the people that will elect leaders to the Presidency and Parliament. Qasim noted that in a centralized system of governance, it is the Parliament that elects the Prime Minister and Cabinet of a nation. He said that hence, there will only be a small number of people who are accountable for what the Prime Minister or Ministers carry out.

The JP leader said that we have seen the consequences of what happens when a Prime Minister proceeds to govern, even before. He added that he does not wish to see the same sequence of events play out once again. Qasim declared that Jumhooree Party supports a Republican or “Jumhooree” system and that the party wishes for a Presidential system to be in place, in Maldives, for a very long time.