MDP heads to court over attempts to thwart Nasheed no-confidence motion

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has threatened to go to the Supreme Court, after accusing Speaker Mohamed Nasheed - the party's former leader - of deliberately blocking the no-confidence motion filed against him with the Parliament.

The Parliament’s Standing Orders dictate that in situations where a no-confidence motion has been submitted against the Speaker, sitting must be presided over by the Deputy Speaker. It does not offer a solution to a situation where the Deputy Speaker is indisposed of.

It instructs the Parliament to follow the protocols of other countries that practice the presidential system in situations where the Standing Orders does not provide explicit guidance.

The Parliament had been scheduled to hear the no-confidence motion against Nasheed on Sunday. However, Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla, Nasheed’s cousin and fellow Democrats member, called in sick.

The Parliament’s Secretary-General Fathimath Niusha decided to ask Eva to attend Monday’s sitting, and postpone the motion to until then.

Several lawmakers from the MDP told Sun that they plan on filing a case with the Supreme Court later Sunday over the attempts to block the motion.

“We believe we cannot find a solution unless through the court,” said one MP.

The MDP had originally submitted no-confidence motions against both Nasheed and Eva earlier this year. The motion against Eva was submitted with the endorsement on 50 MPs in May, and the motion against Nasheed followed, with the endorsement of 54 MPs, in June.

But the MDP withdrew the motions in September, while the party was engaged in negotiations with the Democrats – the party to which both Nasheed and Eva belong – for the presidential runoff election.

The recent motion against Nasheed was submitted with the endorsement of 49 MPs on October 9.

The MDP parliamentary group convened for a meeting week, during which they passed a three-line whip to vote in favor of the motion.

The vote was unanimous.

The MDP holds a majority at the Parliament, with 56 MPs. 43 votes are required to pass the motion.