Parliament to draft code of conduct for MPs

The new Speaker of Parliament, Mohamed Aslam, has said that new rules of conduct for Members of the Parliament will be drafted.

Aslam said it was the responsibility of the Speaker of Parliament to ensure that the parliamentary system is not lost and the responsibilities enshrined in the Constitution are fulfilled. Aslam said that the Parliament is not a place where political activities happen all the time and that he would try to make a code of conduct for members to maintain the dignity of the parliament.

At the same time, Aslam announced that he has decided to take some measures to ensure that the parliamentary system can continue without losing its order.

One of the steps he will take is making a code of conduct for the Members of Parliament and that he will try to get it passed in Parliament, he said.

“It has been done in previous sessions of Parliaments, but it has not been done in this 19th session of Parliament, so I will work on the code of conduct that these members are required to follow as stipulated in the constitution,” he said.

Aslam said the second step is to provide security to ministers and other Members of Parliament. Aslam asked the parliamentary administrators to make the arrangements for that.

The order came after clashes broke out when Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer arrived in parliament yesterday to present the budget for next year and the and supplementary budget for the rest of this year.

The clashes broke out yesterday after Democrats accused the minister of violating the privileges of the entire Parliament.

The Democrats tried to block the budget, saying the Supreme Court ruling shows that Ameer did not appear in Parliament to present the budget after receiving illegal advice.