Supreme Court on trial: Is it man enough to reject Golhaa?

The newly formed Supreme Court faces its baptism of fire barely a week into its existence. Liberal Party has challenged Golhaabo’s candidacy for a ridiculous 7th term on the grounds that it violates the spirit and letter of Article 73 of the Maldives Constitution. The verdict it gives will make or break the nascent Supreme Court, demonstrating to the nation whether the Court is man enough to guide the Maldives into a fully fledged democracy, or spineless enough to be Golhaabo’s next puppy. 

Coming to the actual issue, the case before the Court is open-and-shut if at all there was one. The spirit of the constitution is to limit the terms of a President to two. How does anyone in his right mind believe this generation of Maldivians will wait another 10 years for the old goat to die before they can see a new face? How is it that the aspirations of an entire nation must be sacrificed at the altar of a barefaced crook? 

The letter of the Constitution as expressed in Article 73 is also quite clear on the issue. There is no need to go into fruitless debates on “this” and “that” when the very legal basis for the summoning of the Special Majlis is to amend the Constitution, as there is no provision to abolish the Constitution. This is demonstrable in Golhaabo’s letters to Majlis and his own speeches before he became greedy once again. The question is will the Court see all this?

A more appropriate question is will Golhaabo allow the Court to speak its own mind? The prospects are dim considering that Supreme Court has selected Golhaabo’s nephew Shaheen Hameed as its lawyer. Why on earth did the Court choose him of all people? Everyone knows he is a has-been. 

At one time Shaheen was supposed to be the best lawyer in Maldives. But that was when his Dad was in charge of the courts and could make threatening phone calls to the judges. After daddy Moakulhi Hameed’s departure from the scene, few people if any hire Shaheen. It’s obvious why Shaheen is there. 

It is stupid of Shaheen to talk about the importance of the Inthigaalee chapter. Everyone knows Golhaa’s members inserted clauses there that go against the main chapters of the Constitution just to accommodate Golhaa. 

The Court to avoid being part of the family plot to sustain Golhaa’s dictatorship. Show your quality and guts.

Source: Dhivehi Observer