MDP files SCourt petition to suspend sittings until Nasheed no-confidence motion done

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has filed a petition with the Supreme Court, asking it to suspend parliamentary sittings to conduct any other work until the no-confidence motion against Speaker Mohamed Nasheed is processed.

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.

Nasheed, who has been given 30 minutes to speak in his defense during the debate, did not attend the sitting either.

The Parliament’s Secretary-General Fathimath Niusha decided to cancel the sitting.

In a press conference on Sunday, Ahmed Abdulla Afeef, a member of MDP’s legal team, said the party found Niusha’s decision to be unconstitutional, and in violation of the Parliament’s Standing Orders.

He said that the MDP has filed a constitutional case with the Supreme Court seeking two key decisions.

First, the MDP has asked the court to establish that the Parliament is required to implement Article 44 of the Parliament’s Standing Orders, in a situation where the Deputy Speaker is unable to chair a sitting if a no-confidence motion is submitted against the Speaker.

Article 44 (a) dictates that in a situation where both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker are indisposed of, the Speaker must appoint an MP to chair sittings in accordance with Article 82 (b) of the Constitution.

“The five MPs who will chair sittings if both Speaker and Deputy Speaker are indisposed of are already determined,” said Afeef.

“These five MPs are selected to chair sittings under certain rules if a sitting must be held in such a situation.”

Next, the MDP asked the court to establish that the Parliament cannot hold any other sittings until work on the no-confidence motion is done.

Afeef referred to Article 205 (d) of the Parliament’s Standing Orders, which states that in a situation where a no-confidence motion is submitted against the Speaker, the Parliament cannot engage in debate or make a decision on any other work submitted until a decision is made on the motion, first.

MDP lawmakers had remained at the Parliament’s chambers on Sunday in protest of the cancellation of the sitting. They accused Nasheed of deliberately blocking the no-confidence against him, and demanded the resignation of both the Parliament’s secretary general and the counsel general – Fathimath Filza.

A video shows a group of lawmakers confront them, while one of them – Kanditheem MP Abdulla Shaheem Abdul Hakeel – grabbed Filza’s computer monitor and dropped it on her desk, breaking her phone and tipping over a glass of water on documents in the process.

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.