Privileged motion submitted claiming Nasheed has besieged the parliament

A privileged motion was submitted at Monday’s parliamentary sitting claiming Speaker Mohamed Nasheed to have besieged the parliament and has left the authority powerless.

The motion submitted by Maradhoo MP Ibrahim Shareef was accepted for debate by the votes of 37 lawmakers. Only 13 lawmakers voted to reject the motion.

Presenting his motion, MP Shareef accused Nasheed of obstructing the parliament’s works by not allowing the parliament to proceed with the no-confidence motion submitted by the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) against Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla despite the expiration of the notice period.

MP Shareef also expressed concern over Nasheed’s participation in other parliamentary works and him spending time at the parliament’s canteen despite having recused himself from presiding over parliamentary sittings in the face of a similar motion against him.

MP Shareef, stressing Nasheed was working to strip parliament of its powers and in this trajectory, violating the parliament’s regulations, proposed to lengthen the ongoing second session of the parliament for the year.

He described Nasheed’s acts as infringing the rights of the parliament. Therefore, he said the parliament cannot proceed with any other matter without resolving the issue first.