Gasim accepts loss of JSC seat after lawyers question conflict of interest

Citing Article 10 (a.iv) of the JSC Act, which states that a member of the commission will automatically lose his seat in the instance that they “file to contest in an election for any political position under the constitution of the Maldives”, the lawyers claimed that Gasim could not remain in the judicial watchdog as he is contesting in the upcoming September 7 presidential elections.

Stating that Parliament should now declare Gasim’s seat on the JSC to be vacant, lawyer Ali Hussain told local media, “it is the parliament that needs to do so, as according to law, the institution that appoints a person to the commission that can remove him from the post. Gasim’s argument in his defence may be that even currently he is in an elected position. However, this time he is not contesting as an MP. The problem may not have risen if he was contesting as an MP, but it persists since he is running for presidency.”

At a press conference held Thursday (July 25), Gasim stated that he had attended a commission meeting on Monday (July 22) after having filed for presidential election candidacy, adding that he had done so only because the JSC had not yet come to a decision on the matter of him contesting in the elections.