News Desk
Yazmeed Mohamed, the presidential appointee to the Judicial Service Commission, has resigned as the body’s vice-president while under investigation for an alleged conduct violation, after audio recordings purportedly of his voice circulated on social media.
The JSC confirmed the resignation but gave no official reason. Yazmeed had been vice-president of the commission since 23 October, elected to the post following the resignation of former High Court Judge Mohamed Niaz. He was first appointed to the JSC on 23 February 2025, after the removal of veteran lawyer Mohamed Sameer.
The conduct investigation centred on two allegations. The first was that Yazmeed had attempted to influence the outcome of a criminal case. The second was that the leaked audio contained his voice urging people not to vote for the ruling PNC in the local council elections and suggesting that a person arrested on drug charges could avoid prosecution without the case going through the Prosecutor General’s Office. Whether Yazmeed resigned to pre-empt the investigation’s conclusion or for other reasons has not been stated.
Yazmeed is a presidential appointee. He was put forward by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. His appointment drew attention from the start, and not only because he lacked judicial experience. Yazmeed comes from a family with deep roots in the administration going back to the Yameen years, and has been part of the network used to consolidate PNC support in Vilingili. People close to the President backed his appointment. That background made his presence on the JSC, the body that oversees the conduct of every judge in the country, a matter of interest well before the audio recordings surfaced.
Before joining the JSC he had contested parliamentary elections on a PPM/PNC ticket and served as a member of the Anti-Corruption Commission during the Yameen administration.
His appointment came at a particularly sensitive moment. The JSC was at the time hearing a case involving three Supreme Court judges, making the composition of the commission a matter of direct consequence for the country’s senior judiciary.
The JSC is the constitutional body responsible for the appointment, discipline and removal of judges across the Maldives court system. A member of that body facing allegations of attempting to influence a criminal case and directing votes in a local election goes to the heart of what the commission is supposed to prevent.
Yazmeed has not publicly commented on the allegations or the resignation.
