President switches nominee for ACC vice presidency

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu on Tuesday switched his nominee for the role of vice president of the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC).

In his original letter to the Parliament on January 26, President Muizzu asked for approval to appoint Ahmed Nashid as the vice president of the corruption watchdog.

But in a new letter on Tuesday, he asked the Parliament to approve Abdulla Nashid instead.

The nomination has been sent to the Independent Institutions Committee for vetting.

The five-member ACC is composed of:

• Adam Shamil, president
• Shiyama Mohamed
• Shazna Hashim
• Abdulla Nashid
• Ahmed Nashid 

Ahmed Nashid, along with Abdulla Nashid, were appointed to the ACC on January 26. They received parliamentary approval for their appointment on January 20.

Ahmed Nashid previously served as an assistant commissioner of police and served on the Police Board.

Meanwhile, Abdulla Nashid has a Master’s in Education (School Management) from India’s Regional Institute of Education. He also served as manager of various departments of Aasandha Company.

They were appointed to fill seats vacated in November last year after two of the commission’s members – vice president Abdul Salam and member Thoha Mohamed resigned ahead of no-confidence votes at the Parliament.

In the no-confidence motions against them, Abdul Salam and Thoha were accused of serious misconduct, including filing away a corruption case against a former attorney general despite having sufficient evidence to prosecute the case.

They resigned on November 25, ahead of a floor vote on the motions against them.

The same day, the Parliament passed amendments to the Anti-Corruption Commission Act empowering the Maldivian President to appoint the president and vice president of the commission.

President and vice presidents of the ACC were previously elected with an internal vote taken among members of the commission.