Parliament sitting begins with security personnel in chamber

The parliament sitting scheduled for this morning is under way, with security personnel present in the parliament chamber.

The Parliament Secretariat has also resumed issuing live feed to media outlets.

This is the first sitting of the parliament since its Standing Orders was amended to ban the use of items such as megaphones and horns in the chamber.

The amendment followed several consecutive sittings where MPs of opposition party, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), used such items to create noise and protest against the arrest of former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Despite the lack of equipment, MPs of MDP protested near the Speaker’s desk and obstructed MPs who participated in the debate, today as well.

The item on today’s agenda was debate on a Bill of Amendment to the Import-Export Act. The debate was held amid MDP’s obstructions.