The People’s Majlis (parliament) has become a battleground with the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members “pitted like cocks” against the Z Faction of Divehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) and the Maldives National Defence Forces (MNDF) and the Maldives Police Services continuing to use force against one opposition MP after another to get them out of the Chamber.

A moment after today’s session began, Ahmed Mahloof, MP for Galolhu Dekunu, Malé constituency was called off the chamber by the Deputy Speaker, Ahmed Nazim. However, Mahloof refused to leave the chamber, and the Deputy Speaker adjourned the meeting after a while, stating that he would have to do so in order to get Mahloof out of the chamber under the authority given to him by Article 54(g) of the Majlis Rules of Procedure. The provision in question states that the Speaker has authority to expel any member from the Chamber after an order from the Speaker to leave, though the article does not state that military or police force can be used to do this.

Meanwhile, Mahloof told Sun, while still in the Chamber in his seat, that Ahmed Mohamed, the Secretary General of the Majlis had asked him to leave quietly. However, he said that he was protesting the continuation of the Majlis session in contravention to the rules, and that as long as such disregard of rules and laws was continued he would withstand any compulsion, and resist.

Around 10:23 in the morning, the MNDF brought chamber doors under their control and started guarding them, while the police started using pepper spray against demonstrators outside the Majlis building, and arrested reportedly 2 people. Around 10:44, the Police were in full riot gear, outside the Majlis area, and about 10 minutes later, they entered the Majlis and dragged MP Mahloof out of the Chamber. Demonstrations by both MDP supporters and Z Faction activists went on outside the Majlis building area in the meantime.

After Mahloof was evicted out of the chamber, Mahloof hit Ali Waheed, MP for Thoddu constituency, who had been one of the most prominent members of the opposition DRP for a long time, and then defected last May by signing in to MDP, for a huge sum of money and other benefits according to widespread claims. Mahloof said that he hit Ali Waheed when the latter spat on him, although no other details of the confrontation are yet available.

The session of the Majlis was to start soon after evicting Mahloof, and around 11 o’clock, the Police elite Star Force started warning that any demonstrators in the Majlis building area would be forcibly thrown out of the area, and that force would be utilized in case it was necessary to do that.

The session of the Majlis began not long after the eviction of Mahloof, but it was again adjourned at 11:42 when another prominent Z Faction leader, Ahmed Ilham’s name was called, and he refused to leave the chamber. As rain caused most of the protesters outside the Majlis building area to seek cover, the MNDF officers entered the Chamber at 12:14 and forcibly took Ihlam off the Chamber. Not long after that, another opposition MP, Ali Arif was also dragged out.

The extreme scenario in the Majlis began with yesterday’s sitting of the Majlis, in which some opposition members tried to disrupt the session saying that the ruling MDP and its allies had been breaking all rules in order to achieve their agendas, and that they would resist continuation of the Majlis unless all rules were properly observed. The main complaint of the Z Faction of opposition DRP has been that an impromptu meeting was called last week by informing members via sms just two hours before the meeting, in order to settle the long-disputed issue of Majlis Standing Committee composition. Z Faction had warned following the incident that they would disrupt Majlis sessions if the “wrong” was not corrected, and they have kept their word by interrupting a number of Majlis sessions since.

The Deputy Speaker decided to adjourn the session yesterday, but MDP members in the Majlis bolted chamber doors, and refused to let any opposition members leave the chamber, saying that the session could not be stopped. Since then, protests by both MDP members and Z Faction supporters outside the Majlis have continued with temporary breaks, and the Majlis has become a battleground. The MNDF and Police have been called to enforce Speaker’s decisions to get any MP out of the chamber following a controversial decision by President Mohamed Nasheed and a “legal advice” given to MNDF by a “legal team”.