How can a sitting president be legally removed in the Maldives?
With Malé rife with rumours of the president’s ouster, we take a look at the constitutional avenues and key players involved in removing a sitting president
21 Aug 2016, 9:00 AM
Abdulla Yameen, the president of the Maldives, is facing a colossal legitimacy crisis. Just three years into his presidency, he is battling a broad coalition of opposition parties headed by his former deputy, Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, and a breakaway faction of his own party led by his half-brother and former president of 30 years, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Fuelled by the split within the Progressive Party of the Maldives, the establishment of the Maldives United Opposition, and a spate of arrests of several soldiers, Malé is rife with rumours of the president’s imminent ouster.
Can the opposition or the Gayoom faction remove Yameen from office? What are the legal avenues available to them? Who are the key players?
According to lawyers the Maldives Independent spoke to, the 2008 constitution offers two avenues for the removal of a sitting president – impeachment and arrest. The consent of the parliament and the supreme court are key in both scenarios. The police and the prosecutor general play a major role in the latter.
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