MALE, August 28, 2007 ( Velidhoo News Service) -- The People's Special Majlis, the interim constitutional assembly tasked with amending the constitution by November 30, yesterday resumed its informal sessions.
The informal sessions are held to streamline amendments recommended to bills which the Drafting Committee of the Majlis scrutinizes and harmonises.
The committee's chair Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) said that yesterday's discussions surrounded the Bill of Rights. He said that, however, there were some points the members could not agree upon.
Among other bills now the Majlis will discuss in its informal sessions are bills on liberty, justice, state assets, state debts, prosecution, and implementation and interpretation of the constitution.
Spats and bickering among the divided Majlis have cast doubt whether the constitution can be amended by November 30. So far, no draft bills have been discussed at any formal sittings of the Majlis and no dates have been set yet for any formal sittings.
And if the work of the Drafting Committee is anything to go by, any speedy progress is not expected.
The main problem is meeting the required quorum of the committee which has 23 members. Of the 168 sittings so far held, quorums were met only at 97 sittings.
And even when the quorum is met, vested and partisan interests prevent the committee from agreeing to anything.
The "special meeting" from 23-25 August resulted in nothing. The meeting was held with a view to draft a complete constitution.
However, only two chapters were drafted according to Ibra; the two chapters concern one on the amendment of the constitution and one on state of emergencies.
Ibra said that he does not expect the completion of the draft constitution any time soon.
"We have referred to the Majlis Speaker (Qasim Ibrahim) the problem of slow pace of the committee's work," he said.
Noonu atoll MP Mohamed Thoriq said that the drafting committee is in a "deadlock" because Ibra has not referred the problem to Qasim and that Qasim have failed to take action against MPs who do not show up for sittings.
Some MPs say that it was difficult to speed up the work of the drafting committee itself because MPs who has proposed amendments do not show up.
President's MP and ruling Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) spokesperson Ibrahim Shafiu said that the way the proceedings of the committee are carried out are not correct and that there are many procedural errors as well. Without addressing these issues, the November 30 deadline for the amendment of the constitution cannot be met, he said.
Ibra himself agreed. "There is no spirit among the MPs to complete the amendment of the constitution by the November 30 deadline,” he said.
More than 300 amendments have been proposed to the Bill of Rights alone.
Among the amendments include a controversial "amendment" proposed by ruling DRP MP Mohamed Majdee Ibrahim who proposed to amend the constitution to allow marriage of minors "in accordance with Islamic law."
However, critics have lashed out at Majdee saying that his move was "un-Islamic" and that if adopted, it will mean that "child abuse will be legalized" in Maldives.
The Gender Ministry last night on state-run TVM said that the issue of child abuse cannot be properly addressed in Maldives unless current laws are changed and work of various government agencies harmonized.
Some members of the public have expressed concern that MPs do not want to speed up the reforms because they have pampered themselves with lavish salaries and allowances from the Majlis.
Report: Soodh
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