News Desk
MALE’ — A government bill to digitalise public services and consolidate them under a single citizen portal sparked an unexpected row in parliament on Monday, with an opposition MP accusing the ruling party of using the legislation as cover to introduce electronic voting and rig future elections.
The Maldives 2.0 Digital Transformation Bill, submitted by Gahdhoo constituency MP Mohamed Ali on behalf of the government, proposes creating a National Citizen Portal through which all government services, including those of local councils, would be accessible. The bill would also establish a new body called the Maldives Digital Service, headed by a Commissioner for Digital Technology, and require a Digital Transformation Council to set the roadmap and timelines for implementation. A separate Digital Identity Bill has already been submitted to parliament to underpin the legal framework for the portal.
Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa, known as Gappo, did not accept the bill at face value. Speaking during the first reading debate, he said the legislation raised serious questions about whether the government’s real intention was to digitalise services or to move toward e-voting. He accused the government of planning to steal elections through a newly created office staffed with its own appointees.
“This is a bill submitted to steal votes through the system,” he said.
The response from the government benches was immediate. Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau said there was not a single word about e-voting anywhere in the bill and called Gappo’s claim an outright lie. He suggested the MDP’s hostility to the legislation revealed a discomfort with closing the doors through which fraud had previously been possible.
Maafannu West MP Mohamed Mustafa and several other PNC members also pushed back. Mustafa said e-voting was not the government’s intention, not the party’s intention and not the President’s intention.
Funadhoo MP Mohamed Mamdooh said it had been obvious from the start that the MDP would oppose the bill. Feydhoo South MP Ibrahim Didi said attempts to turn public opinion against digital reform legislation every time it was introduced were deeply irresponsible, and that nothing in the bill related to elections in any form. Didi’s son is Ali Ihsan, the Minister of Homeland Security, Labour and Technology, the ministry under whose portfolio digital transformation sits.
The bill does not set fixed deadlines for digitalisation. Instead it leaves the timeline to the Digital Transformation Council to determine once the law is in force. The portal must be accessible in Dhivehi, usable by people regardless of their level of digital literacy and accessible to people with disabilities.
The initial debate continues.
