President: Commissions established due to lack of faith in institutions

Establishment of presidential commissions to investigate murders and enforced disappearances, and to investigate corruption and recover missing State funds became necessary due to lack of public faith in existing institutions, says President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

During a campaign tour of Sh. Milandhoo this Sunday morning, Solih spoke about the two presidential commissions he established shortly after assuming office on November 17, 2018.

The sunset law submitted by Solih’s administration to empower the two commissions - Commission for Investigation of Murders and Enforced Disappearances, and Commission for Investigation of Corruption and Asset Recovery – remains stymied at the Parliament.

Speaking at the campaign event in Milandhoo, Solih said that he had established the two presidential commissions out of necessity due to lack of public faith in existing independent institutions charged with investigating such cases.

He expressed concern over the lack of cooperation from the Parliament to empower the two commissions.

“We have existing independent institutions. We have ACC. And we have more institutions which can look into this. But like I said before, the public, at the time, did not have any faith in these institutions. I don’t see them having made any accomplishment. I, at the time, did not see these institutions investigate any case expect when it involved a selective party or selective issue. I was, on that day, forced to establish the presidential commissions,” said Solih.

He said that he would not have been forced to establish the presidential commissions if existing independent institutions had been fully functional and autonomous.

He stressed the lack of cooperation from the Parliament required the government and its coalition partners to reinforce its work to push the necessary legislature through.

Solih said that acts of corruption and murders had taken place right before the eyes of Maldivian citizens, and expressed concern over investigations into such cases being blocked, halfway through.

“I require the support and majority of the Parliament today to accomplish all this. There is much work required to develop Maldives. This cannot be accomplished without the support of the Parliament,” said Solih.

Speaker of Parliament, Qasim Ibrahim, on February 27, withdrew the presidential commissions bill and ordered an investigation following a petitioned filed by six members of the Independent Institutions Committee who warn the report on the bill presented to the Parliament vote is not the report passed by the committee.

All previous attempts at passing the bill, from the time it was submitted to the Parliament in 2018 to until the Speaker withdrew it from the agenda on February 27, had failed due to lack of quorum.

PRESIDENTIAL COMMISSIONS BILL

• Authority to seek assistance from Maldives Police Service and other State institutions for investigations
• Authority to hire international investigators
• Authority to seek assistance from Maldives Police Service for raids and search operations
• Authority to confiscate evidence collected during raids
• Authority to freeze bank accounts of suspects under investigation
• Authority to request court orders
• Exclusive investigative rights over cases under investigation by the commissions
• Authority to order other investigative agencies to share information and hand over evidence
• Establishment of any obstruction to the commissions’ investigations as a criminal offense