Parliament has rejected an emergency motion to require the government to disclose the number of people appointed to political positions and the amount spent on salaries by government-owned companies.

The emergency motion was moved by MDP MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem.

The emergency motion said the government is refusing to disclose the number of people appointed to various posts under the powers given to the President to appoint people to government posts and the amount being spent on salaries by government-owned companies.

Meekail said the President has taken advantage of the powers given to him by the Constitution to appoint people to political positions without any restrictions. The government-owned companies have recruited more people than they need without any restrictions, which has increased the amount they have to spend on salaries and made it difficult for them to operate, he said.

Meekail said the Finance Committee of the Parliament had asked the Minister of Finance to clarify the official number of people appointed by the President to political positions.

Therefore, the government is obstructing the exercise of the right to information guaranteed by the Constitution, he said. The Constitution stipulates that it is the duty of the state to act in accordance with the Constitution and to protect and promote the rights and freedoms enshrined in the Constitution.

Therefore, the refusal to provide information to journalists and ordinary citizens who request it from government agencies is preventing them from fulfilling their constitutional duty to hold the executive branch accountable, and preventing them from exercising their constitutionally guaranteed right to information. The emergency motion calls on the government to disclose the number of people appointed to political positions and the total amount spent on salaries by government-owned companies.

However, only 11 out of 68 members of the Parliament voted in favor of debating the issue. 56 members voted against the debate.