BREAKING: Motion to dismiss Ameen sent to parliament with 24 signatures

Male’, Maldives – No-confidence motion against Minister of Health, Abdulla Ameen has been submitted to the parliament with 24 signatures.

Following the Prosecutor Generals decision of not prosecuting Minister Ameen over the ventilator corruption scandal, MDP national council also voted not to remove him from the ministerial position.

However, some of the members of parliament from MDP went against the decision of the party’s parliamentary group, including the President of MDP, Speaker of Parliament, Former President Mohamed Nasheed. Speaker Nasheed had said he would do anything necessary even against the party’s whip line.

In a tweet posted by Galolhu Dhekunu Constituency MP Mickail Naseem earlier today, he stated that they had already started to get signatures from MP’s to submit the motion. The motion to dismiss Minister Ameen came in less than an hour after his tweet.

MDP parliamentary group passed not to take a no-confidence vote against Minister Ameen with 31 votes out of the total 58 members who attended the vote.

Madaveli constituency MP Hussain Firushan has also tweeted after filing the motion to dismiss Minister Ameen. He was accompanied by Maafannu Central constituency MP Ibrahim Rasheed (Bondey) and Bilehdhoo constituency MP Ahmed Haleem (Dhonbilei).

The Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) had decided earlier this morning that none among the 11 individuals who have been requested to be prosecuted by the Anti Corruptions Commission of Maldives (ACC), with regards to the corruption involving the purchase of ventilators for the state, can be prosecuted, highlighting insufficient evidence.

Minister Ameen had recused himself from his duties on August 17 following the the Covid -19 Compliance Audit Report for the Ministry of Health published by the Auditor General on August 16. Since then Minister Ameen has been brought to the Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee and its sub-committee several times.