Constitution of the Maldives

The current Constitution of the Republic of Maldives was ratified on 7 August 2008 by then president Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom, replacing the 1998 constitution and standing as the sixth constitution in Maldivian history since the first written constitution failed within nine months of its 1932 adoption. It establishes a presidential system with executive, legislative and judicial branches, headed by a president who leads a cabinet answerable to the People's Majlis. The document runs to a preamble, fourteen chapters and three schedules covering subjects from citizenship to emergency powers, and it requires that the president be a Muslim and a follower of a Sunni school of Islam, while barring non-Muslims from citizenship. The 2008 constitution introduced expanded democratic rights, enshrined separation of powers and created accountability mechanisms that opened the way to the country's first multi-party elections that same year.