Only former Vice President Faisal Naseem would be eligible to receive State allowances under a new amendment bill submitted to Parliament, which introduces stricter conditions for benefits granted to former vice presidents.

The amendment to the Former Presidents Protection and Benefit Act was proposed by MP for Hulhudhoo constituency Mohamed Shahid. Under the bill, former vice presidents will only receive allowances if they have completed a full five-year term and if no criminal charges have been brought against them.

Based on these criteria, other former vice presidents, including Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik, Mohamed Waheeduddeen, Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, Ahmed Adheeb and Abdulla Jihad, would not qualify, as none of them completed a full five-year term, and in the cases of Adheeb and Jihad, criminal charges have been brought against them.

The bill also proposes revisions to the benefits provided to former presidents. One key amendment removes the provision that grants former presidents MVR 175,000 per month to run their offices. The bill further requires that benefits be suspended not only when a former president is elected for a second term but also if they are appointed to any State office.

These amendments would reduce next year’s expenditure on former presidents and vice presidents from MVR 19.7 million to MVR 10.2 million.