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Baseline Research on Floor Crossing in the Maldives

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Baseline Research on Floor Crossing in the Maldives BASELINE RESEARCH ON FLOOR CROSSING IN THE MALDIVES APRIL 2015 Transparency Maldives, the National Contact of Transparency International, is a non-partisan organisation that promotes collaboration, awareness raising and other initiatives to improve governance and eliminate corruption from the daily lives of people. Transparency Maldives views corruption as a systemic issue and advocates for institutional changes that will punish and prevent corruption. www. transparency.mv This publication may be re-produced in whole or in part in any form for educational or non-profit use, without permission from the holder of copyright, provided acknowledgement of the source is made. Transparency Maldives would appreciate receiving a copy of any publication which uses this book as a source. No use of this publication may be made for resale or other commercial purposes without the prior permission of Transparency Maldives. This report is produced by Transparency Maldives as part of the Parliament Accountability Project funded by the British High Commission Colombo. Any opinions expressed in this document do not necessarily represent the views of the British High Commission Colombo. Author: Transparency Maldives Research: S&R Associates, led by Athaulla A. Rasheed, PhD, MAppL, BSocSi; and Ali Shujau, LLM, LLB Team leader: Fazla Abdul-Samad Design and layout: Dhahau Naseem MF Building, 7th floor, Chandhanee Magu, Malé, Maldives. T +960 330 4017 F +960 300 60 62 [email protected] /TransparencyMV @TransparencyMV @transparencymv ii BASELINE RESEARCH ON FLOOR CROSSING IN THE MALDIVES APRIL 2015 iii CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS . .VI . FOREWORD . VII. TERMINOLOGY 1 1 INTRODUCTION 2 1.1 Hypothesis building: A literature review . 4 1.2 Defining floor crossing . 4 1.3 Reasons for floor crossing . 5 1.4 Consequences of floor crossing . 6 1.5 Mechanisms that prevent or support floor crossing . .6 2 METHODOLOGY 8 2.1 Research design . 8 2.2 Research agenda . 8 3 CASE STUDIES 14 3.1 Floor crossing in India . 14 3.2 Floor crossing in Bangladesh . 16 3.3 Floor crossing in South Africa. 18 3.4 Floor crossing in the United States . 20 4 FLOOR CROSSING TRENDS IN THE MALDIVES 24 5 SurveY FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 28 5.1 Definitional aspects of floor crossing . 28 5.2 Reasons for floor crossing . 30 5.3 Mechanisms that prevent or support floor crossing . 34 5.4 Consequences of floor crossing . 38 ANNEX 1 40 REFERENCES 43 BIBLIOGRAPHY 47 v TRANSPARENCY MALDIVES ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This survey would not have been Parliament Accountability Project, Fazla possible without the contributions and Abdul-Samad, for overseeing the survey. support of a number of people. We We also thank Transparency Maldives wish to thank Athaulla A. Rasheed and staff, Thoriq Hamid, Mariyam Shiuna, Ali Shujau for undertaking the research Ibrahim Riza, Naji Hameed, Aishath work. We thank our interns, Maishan Ibahath, and Ahmed Mohamed (Forme) Waheed and Anaan Shafeeu, and our for their assistance and support in volunteers, Anaan Anil, Ahmed Naif various capacities. Finally, we thank the Mohamed (Jin), Hussain Nawaf Rauf, and British High Commission Colombo, for Ismail Shihab, who helped to conduct their generous funding to undertake the the survey. We thank the coordinator of Parliament Accountability Project. vi BASELINE RESEARCH ON FLOOR CROSSING IN THE MALDIVES FOREWORD Transparency Maldives started the grand corruption, is endemic in the Parliament Accountability Project in the Maldives but there is no evidence to hope of increasing public understanding suggest that with every party defection of the Parliament’s role, function or floor crossing there is a flow of and practices, and, by extension, illicit enrichment behind it. However, generate public demand for Parliament considering the lack of transparency accountability and transparency. in asset disclosure by public officials in Transparency Maldives’ Democracy the Maldives, coupled with the public Survey conducted in 2013 indicates perception that corruption is high in that over 62% of the population has the Parliament, it is important that best no confidence in the Parliament. This is practices are adhered to, in order to very worrying given that the Parliament ensure that floor crossing does not is a key representative institution. As open a gateway for illicit enrichment and an organization that focuses on good becomes a reason for public to lose trust governance and the elimination of in the Parliament. corruption in the Maldives, it is imperative Tranparency Maldives undertook this that Tranparency Maldives’ interventions research on the basis that understanding focus on building public confidence in of public perception on floor crossing will key representative institutions such as provide insight into why the public lacks the Parliament. confidence in the Parliament. It is hoped Floor crossing is an issue that is often that international best practices and case discussed in the Maldives alongside studies of defection laws and practice in speculation of corruption in the process other countries will broaden stakeholder of floor crossing. However, there is understanding of floor crossing and limited understanding of why and how provide a baseline to take the discussion floor crossing occurs, and how public forward. perceives this. Corruption, particularly Mariyam Shiuna Executive Director vii BASELINE RESEARCH ON FLOOR CROSSING IN THE MALDIVES TERMINOLOGY Consequences of floor crossing Legislative process – Parliamentary – Positive and negative outcomes of decision-making process. floor crossing. Political corruption – Manipulation Corruption – The abuse of entrusted of policies, institutions and rules power for private gain. of procedure in the allocation of resources and financing by political Floor crossing – Parliamentarians decision makers, who abuse their belonging to one party voting against position to sustain their power, status, their party line and/or switching and wealth. to another party during legislative process. Political institutions – All state institutions created under the Governance system – Body of all Constitution. political institutions established under the Constitution to govern political, Preventive and supporting economic, and social activities. systems – Legal and governance systems in place to address floor Legal institutions – Legislation, crossing. laws, regulations, and rules. Reasons for floor crossing – Legal system – Body of all legal Reasons why parliamentarians cross institutions. the floor. 1 TRANSPARENCY MALDIVES 1 INTRODUCTION This survey involves mixed methods parliamentarians to shift their political research to explore and analyse public interests for personal gains or prestige attitudes and perceptions towards can engender acts of corruption during floor crossing in the Parliament of the the legislative process.3 Maldives and its links to corruption. It Acting or moving against the party line generates empirical data on the trends takes different forms and terminologies of floor crossing with respect to the with respect to context and language behaviour and political practices of in which it is explored. Party defecting, Maldivian parliamentarians during the party switching, changing political 2008-2015 period that can be used parties, or floor crossing are used to for advocacy purposes and to create explain this phenomenon. Sometimes dialogue between parliamentarians, civil politicians or parliamentarians change society organisations, media, and the their original party and physically move public on parliamentary best practices to other parties; whereas on other on floor crossing. occasions, parliamentarians go against One may define floor crossing as their party line, switching sides during parliamentarians belonging to one party legislative sessions, eventually leading to voting against their party line during a change of party.4 This research defines legislative sessions.1 Although the floor crossing as a practice whereby topic or the issue of floor crossing has the parliamentarian switches his/her received surprisingly little attention by legislative votes during parliamentary political analyses, literature reviewed in sessions, encompassing further actions this research shows that floor crossing leading to either voluntary or involuntary has been a common phenomenon in change of party or parties. democracies of both developed and The literature reviewed in this research developing countries that has significant shows that there are multiple factors impacts on the practice of party politics.2 pertaining to reasons for floor crossing. Floor crossing affects the democratic For example, the desire to implement process because it distorts party discipline policy, win re-election, advances within and public confidence for reasons only legislature, and gain support from entailing political and personal gains of constituency are key reasons that may politicians and parliamentarians. This motivate a parliamentarian to cross the research takes the view that a process floor during legislative sessions. Weak that creates incentives for elected democratic institutions, weak or unstable 2 BASELINE RESEARCH ON FLOOR CROSSING IN THE MALDIVES 1 INTRODUCTION party systems, and disapproving as stated above. Some developed policy lines are some of the institutional countries view floor crossing not as factors affecting decision-making of a detriment to party politics but an parliamentarians during legislative occurrence pertaining to democratic sessions especially when desires are process;
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