Supreme Court to hear MDP petition on Nasheed motion next week

The Supreme Court is scheduled to begin hearings on Monday, in a petition filed by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), seeking its guidance, after accusing Speaker Mohamed Nasheed of “hijacking” the Parliament in order to thwart the no-confidence motion submitted against him.

Supreme Court told Sun that the court has scheduled a hearing in the case from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm on Monday.

The Parliament had scheduled three sittings to hear the no-confidence motion submitted by the MDP against their former leader this week.

However, Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla, Nasheed’s cousin and fellow Democrats member, called in sick. She informed the Parliament that she was recovering from dengue, which she was diagnosed with last week.

Parliament’s Secretary General Fathimath Niusha decided the sittings cannot be held without Eva there to chair it.

The decision drew sharp protest from MDP lawmakers, who filed a case with the Supreme Court, seeking a judicial remedy, 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.

MDP is seeking two key decisions from the Supreme Court.

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.

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.

The party 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.

The turmoil within the Parliament comes with the legislative body asked to approve a supplementary budget, and the 2024 state budget.

It also comes with the President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu set to take office on November 17.

The MDP has warned it will not allow any other work to be done until the motion is processed, first.

MDP’s parliamentary group leader Mohamed Aslam said the MDP filed its case with the Supreme Court because it had run out of all other options.

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 has issued a three-line whip to vote in favor of the motion.

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