AG Riffath to appear before parliament to verbally respond to no-confidence motion

Attorney General (AG) Ibrahim RIffath, citing he has not been given the opportunity to respond in writing to the no-confidence motion submitted against him, has appealed for an opportunity to appear before the parliament to verbally respond to the motion.

The Parliament’s General Purposes Committee had decided to give Riffath 30 minutes of talk time during the allocated hours for debate to make his case in the no-confidence against him. He was set to appear before Parliament on Wednesday.

However, instead of making a physical appearance, he sent his response in writing instead.

After a short recess as political leaders decided on how to proceed, Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed said the parties failed to reach a consensus on the matter. Therewith, the speaker decided to seek counsel from the Supreme Court.

In a letter sent to Speaker Nasheed on Thursday, AG Riffath explained he initially responded in writing for the purpose of conveying a detailed response as many have made statements on the matter in a manner that misleads the public while the matter contains a lot of legalities.

Stressing the failure to proceed with the motion with his written response – AG RIffath appealed to Nasheed for an opportunity to exercise his right to respond verbally under Article 101 (b) of the constitution.

The no-confidence motion was filed by an opposition alliance which comprises of the opposition PPM-PNC coalition, ‘The Democrats’, headed by Nasheed, Jumhoory Party and Maldives National Party – citing negligence in advocating for Maldives’ best interests in the border dispute between Maldives and Mauritius at International Tribunal for the Law of the Seas (ITLOS).