11 organizations have expressed concern over the amendments made to the Constitution by the government in parliament within a single day.

These organizations are Transparency Maldives, Save the Maldives, Association for Democracy in the Maldives, Uthema, Equal Rights Initiative, Zero Waste Maldives, MLCA, Hope for Women, Belief Maldives, Project Thamaveshi, and Ecocare Maldives.

In a joint press release issued today, the organizations stated that the Majlis has made constitutional amendments hastily, without any transparency, disregarding the procedures and principles to be followed in lawmaking, in a manner that could restrict democratic principles.

The organizations said that the amendments made to the Constitution by the Majlis are contrary to Article 4 of the Constitution, which states that all powers of the state originate from and remain with the people.

"We view that if a culture of making laws outside such principles emerges in lawmaking, this would raise questions about the true purpose of amending laws, the transparency and accountability of the state, and would be seen as efforts to facilitate corruption and consolidate powers directly contrary to the spirit of the Constitution," the statement said.

The organizations stated that the responsibilities of the Attorney General include upholding, protecting, promoting, and defending the rule of law. However, they said that the Attorney General has not made adequate efforts to ensure public opinion and participation in bringing amendments to the Constitution.

"We believe that every amendment to the Constitution affects the entire state governance and many fundamental rights of the people, and as it determines the system of governance, every member, civil society organizations, and the general public should have the opportunity to fully review and debate these amendments, and there should be a meaningful debate," the statement said.

The amendment passed by the Majlis yesterday states that if a person elected to the Majlis through a political party voluntarily leaves that party or is expelled from the party or becomes a member of another political party during their elected term, they will lose their seat in the Majlis.

Additionally, the bill states that if an independent member elected to the Majlis joins a political party, they will also lose their seat.

The bill also proposes that in addition to losing the seat for changing parties, parliamentary approval would be required for stationing foreign troops in the Maldives and for changes to the Maldivian territorial waters and exclusive economic zone."