Opposition accuses MDP of ‘abusing supermajority for revenge’

The opposition coalition accused Speaker Mohamed Nasheed and MDP lawmakers of abusing authority and acting unconstitutionally to sack judges. Chief Justice Dr Ahmed Abdulla Didi and Justice Adam Mohamed Abdulla were removed from the bench after the judicial watchdog probed ethical misconduct related to 17 instances where the apex court violated the constitution or usurped powers of parliament and other state institutions.

“Nasheed, through his seat on the Judicial Service Commission and aided by his supermajority in parliament, has rendered it impossible for judges to operate with independence and impartiality,” the opposition said in an English statement. “Faced with the threat of suspension and removal for disregarding ‘advise’ issued by ministers and the president’s office chief of staff, judges are being forced to aid and abet Nasheed’s plot to eradicate political opposition in his chicanery.”

Judicial reform was a key pledge of both President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and the MDP’s campaign for April’s parliamentary elections. With its landslide victory, the MDP secured well above the two-thirds majority needed to remove judges from the bench.