Will remove Ameen even against MDP’s whip: Nasheed

Male’, Maldives – President of MDP, Speaker of Parliament, Former President Mohamed Nasheed has said that he would go on with the vote to remove Minister Ameen from his position even if it’s against the party’s whip.

His remarks come after the failed parliamentary group vote to take the no-confidence vote against the minister. The vote ended up in favor of Minister Ameen with 31 votes out of the total 58 members supporting to keep him in the position.

In the MDP parliamentary group’s WhatsApp group, Speaker Nasheed let out his frustration on the outcome of the votes by saying that he would go ahead with the vote even if it’s against the party’s whip line and that he is ready to accept any action which would be taken against him by the disciplinary committee of the party.

A short while ago the motion to dismiss Minister Ameen had been filed at the Parliament with 24 members signatures. The motion to dismiss him was sent to the parliament by Madaveli constituency MP, Hussain Firushaan, 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.