The formation of parliamentary committees was postponed at the request of MDP Parliamentary Group Leader, MP Mohammed Aslam to consult with the parties on the matter, Parliamentary Secretary General Fathimath Niusha has revealed.
Dissatisfied with the stay of the motion for dismissal as per the rules, MP Aslam sent a letter to Niusha saying that no other work of the parliament could be done without the motion to remove MP Eva Abdullah from the post of Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
In response, the Secretary-General sent a letter yesterday saying that with the change in the division of members into political parties in the House, the vote on the reconstitution of the committees was planned to be held during polling hours in the session held on 23rd last month, but it was postponed at Aslam’s request.
“The Speaker of Parliament had so announced, but as the Leader of the Majority of Parliament and the MDP Parliamentary Group, you [MP Aslam] had requested that the ratio of members be represented in the Standing Committees of Parliament to be revised, the parliament decided to postpone the vote on the matter and re-determine the ratio in consultation with the leaders of the parliamentary groups under Rule 33(a) of the Rules of Procedure,” the letter said.
In her letter, she said Aslam had misinterpreted the provision of the rules. Any other matter shall be debated or decided after the expiry of the notice of the resolution and its submission to the session of Parliament.
Although notice of the case has been given to Eva, the matter has not yet been submitted to the parliament, she said.
Niusha told that the no-confidence motion against Eva has not yet been tabled in the session and the other work of the parliament will continue.
The letter added that the way the parties are represented in parliament has changed dramatically with the 13 MDP defector MP’s have now lost their status in the standing committees.
According to the rules of the parliament, every member must be a member of one of the committees of the parliament and the Speaker of the Parliament must protect the interests of members who do not belong to political parties.
According to the rules, the committees will continue to operate after the changes in the proportion of members belonging to political parties and members belonging to non-parties belonging to the committees must be approved by the parliament.
It is the responsibility of the Secretary-General to direct the work of the General Committee of the Parliament to be conducted in accordance with the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament.
The rules do not allow any further work to be carried out in the parliament after the expiry of the notice of no confidence in the Speaker or Vice-Speaker.
The MDP parliamentary group had filed a no-confidence motion against the Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed stating that Nasheed has deliberately delayed the reconstitution of the committees.
