Amendment to Armed Forces Act

This article authored by me was published initially at Doctor Abdullah Waheed's blog since this blog wasn't established at that time. Im republishing it here, revised in light of some changes that have taken place recently, such as the change at the post of Chief of Defence Force. In the article outlined are a few points for the Government that took oath on 11th November 2008 to consider regarding amending into the Armed Forces Act, mainly on the post of Chief of Defence Force.

The first point of note is to set out a fixed term of duty for the post of the Chief of Defence Force (CDF). The post's duties and responsibilities are well laid out in the law. The addition of a fixed term for it is essential to ensure the flow of promotion effectively among senior ranks and secure the position from being dominated by a single person for an undue period of time. The duration of the fixed term could be set after looking at those of other military bodies and adjusted to suit Maldivian environment; the standard term found in most countries is 3 years. And also the person holding the post should be limited to serving a single term of duty.

In connection with the first point, the person holding the position of the Chief of Defence Force would need to be exempt from the clause in the law regarding the compulsory retirement age for military personnel. The reason for this is to ensure the stability of the term of duty for the position, thereby giving the person holding the position an unhindered 3 years to put policies and strategies into effect. The lack of this provision would result in the rapid turnover of personnel holding the post, thus depriving the force of a stable and effective leadership.

Thirdly is to lay down a provision requiring that appointments to the posts of CDF / Vice CDF are done with the approval of the parliament. To ensure a faster and secure process through the parliament the approval process can be set to be carried out in the security committee of the parliament without going to the main parliament floor. The reasoning behind this rule is to ensure protection from politically motivated appointments to the senior positions. This would serve to keep the defence force apolitical. This is a standard procedure followed in numerous other countries as well.