MDP secures enough signatures to oust Speaker Nasheed

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has gathered enough signatures to submit, and even pass a no-confidence motion to oust the party’s leader Mohamed Nasheed as the speaker of Parliament.

MDP’s parliamentary group voted to submit a no-confidence motion against Nasheed on Tuesday, after weeks of concern from pro-government MDP members regarding how he runs the Parliament.

A member of MDP’s parliamentary group told Sun that the no-confidence motion against Nasheed had received the endorsement of 50 MPs.

The source said they were working on submitting the motion before the end of Tuesday.

South Machangolhi MP Ahmed Haitham had tweeted earlier that the motion had secured 45 signatures.

Time: 14:54

Signatures: 45

— Haitham Ahmed (@ahmhaitham) June 6, 2023

The decision to submit the no-confidence motion was taken after Nasheed decided to table the no-confidence motion against Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath, submitted by the opposition alliance over his alleged failure to act in the best interests of Maldives in the disputed maritime area between Maldives and Mauritius.

The last half of the debate on the motion had been scheduled for Tuesday. However, the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) submitted a motion against Riffath, accusing him of violating the Parliament’s privileges.

The motion was rejected by MDP MPs, who hold a supermajority at the Parliament.

The sitting was cut short after both sides launched into a verbal fight, resulting in loss of order.

The Parliament has 55 MDP MPs other than Nasheed. 43 votes are required to pass the motion.