MP Ziyad: Govt using Parliament as a ‘deck brush to clean filth’

The People’s National Congress (PNC) is using the Parliament as a deck brush to clean filth, says Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyad (Fittey), a politician from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

He made the remark during the debate on Wednesday regarding the appointment of a new Supreme Court justice.

Speaking during the debate, Ziyad said that the Parliament – with its PNC supermajority – is helpless.

“The members of the Parliament are practically restrained. And, honorable Speaker, its not because they are fasting that they are like this,” he said.

Ziyad said that lawmakers “have something happen to them” because of how they vote. He suggested that PNC lawmakers raise frequent points of orders to disrupt speeches by opposition lawmakers in order to curry favor with the government.

 “Some people have been able to move from the Ethics Committee to the Public Accounts Committee by raising points of order. This is why they are raising points. It not necessarily because there is any disorder here,” he said.

Ziyad said that lawmakers should strive to speak up for the rights of citizens.

“This is the People’s Majlis, not the government’s majlis,” he said.

Ziyad said the government is using the Parliament as a “deck brush.”

“The government sees this Parliament as a deck brush. The members of the Parliament are on alert day and night to clean the filth the government creates and the coffee that ministers spill. Because this is not how it should be…” he said.

Ziyad also urged the government to change the composition of the Judicial Service Commission (JSC) – a call repeated by Central Hithadhoo MP Ahmed Azaan Marzooq, a lawmaker from the PNC.

During his 2023 presidential campaign, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu pledged to change the composition of the JSC to remove politicians from the commission.

The former MDP administration had also promised to reform JSC’s composition – a promise they failed to deliver.