Practice of Changing Judges by Every Administration is Wrong, Says Nasheed

Former President Mohamed Nasheed said yesterday that it is disheartening that the leaders of this country believe that judges have to change every time after the administration changes, and that the system should be changed in a way that does not allow for this.

In a post on X, Nasheed said in Dhivehi that the 2008 Constitution was not formulated with the intention that the president could change the judges whenever they felt like it. 

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“However, the constitution is composed in a way that is unlike what [I] hoped for, befitting a royalty-like presidential system,” he said. 

He notes that they had to compile who made up the Supreme Court as soon as they started enforcing the 2008 Constitution. However, after every administration change following an election, the new administration changes the judges.

“In 2013, 2018 and 2023, after the election, the [new] administration changes the judges,” he said. 

Although Nasheed made this statement, opposition parties had previously accused him of interfering with the judiciary during his tenure as Speaker of Parliament in the former administration. Furthermore, while he was President, he was accused by the opposition of using the military to detain the then-Chief Justice of the Criminal Court, Abdulla Mohamed.

Nasheed later admitted that his actions were inappropriate, explaining that he acted because Abdulla Mohamed had failed to comply with rulings issued by the Judicial Service Commission (JSC). He subsequently described the incident as a “manufactured error”, claiming the action had been necessary due to the judge’s refusal to adhere to the JSC’s decisions.

Nasheed was initially sentenced to 13 years in prison in connection with the case, although the conviction was later overturned.

He made his remarks in a post on X, referring to the current political developments in the Maldives, where Parliament voted yesterday to dismiss two Supreme Court Justices—Azmiralda Zahir and Mahaz Ali Zahir. The motion passed with 68 votes in favour and 11 against.

They were suspended from their positions, along with Justice Husnu Al-Suood, on February 26. Justice Suood has since resigned from the commission, citing intimidation and accusing President Muizzu and the attorney general of using pressure tactics to force dismissals.