Lawmaker dismisses Minister Fayyaz's no confidence vote as 'drama'

MP for Naifaru and deputy leader of PPM Ahmed Shiyam has described the political ordeal for a possible vote of no confidence against Economic Minister Fayyaz Ismail was nothing more than a ‘drama’.

Yesterday, it was revealed that some MDP members including Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed were gathering signatures for a vote of no confidence against Minister Fayyaz, who is one the senior figures of the government. 

MP Shiyam said that he was not convinced of the reality of the move against Fayyaz.  Shiyam said that the whole ordeal was an attempt to distract.

“It is an attempt to distract the public from the additional rings on the traps set by individuals taking unfair advantage from the failures of the government. The direction of the country is not right, wake up!” tweeted the MP, who is a leading figure of the opposition movement. 

Minister Fayyaz Ismail is seen as one of the most influential members of the Cabinet, and the move by members of his own party MDP, to gather signatures against him was all the more surprising for him. Fayyaz, speaking with Sun yesterday had said that the news of the move caught him by surprise.

Parliament Speaker and former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed has been named by reliable sources as the first person to sign the no-confidence motion, and several MDP parliamentarians also alleged Nasheed was behind the no-confidence motion itself.

However, Minister Fayyaz said that he found it hard to believe that Nasheed could be behind such a move. While some 15 MDP parliamentarians have signed the no-confidence motion, some are also publicly declaring their support for Fayyaz. At least 13 MDP parliamentarians have also publicly declared their support for him.