The MDP Parliamentary Group Leader Mohammed Aslam has said that the debate time being not finalised on the impeachment motion against Vice-President Eva Abdullah should not be a reason to exclude the matter from the agenda.
MP Eva’s case was not included in the agenda of today’s parliamentary agenda , said MP Aslam in a TV program last night and said that things are very clear in the rules of procedure on the no-confidence motion.
Aslam said the rules of the House stipulate that a notice should be sent within three official days and the agenda should be put on the agenda within 14 days.
The way to do it in the case of MP Eva is to put the matter on the agenda by the Speaker of Parliament and then debate the issue in the parliament floor to fixing the time of debate, he said. Aslam also added that he does not believe there is any reason why Eva’s case should not be put on the agenda.
Aslam alleged that the Speaker of Parliament, Mohammed Nasheed, is acting in a manner which leads to confusions in setting agendas on issues. He cited the example of Nasheed’s actions in the no-confidence motion against Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath.
According to the rules of the Parliament, the resolution to remove MP Eva from the post of Deputy Speaker must be put on the agenda today.
However, the Secretary General of the Parliament Fathimath Niusha had earlier informed the House that the matter could not be put on the agenda as some of the work had to be done by the General Committee and the committees had not been formed after 12 MP’s left MDP.
Parliament issued today’s agenda without including Eva’s case even though the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has twice requested the issue to be put on the agenda. Niusha had earlier said that Eva’s case would be put on the agenda after the formation of a general committee.
While no-confidence motions have been filed against the Speaker and Deputy-Speaker of the Parliament, the motion to remove Eva had to be tabled in today’s session. According to the rules, the Speaker of Parliament is to preside over the session.
However, the Speaker of the Parliament, Mohammed Nasheed, has informed the Parliament yesterday that he is recusing from the speakers position as a no-confidence motion has been filed against him.
The regulation for Parliament says that in a situation where a motion to dismiss Speaker, the duties fall on Deputy Speaker and vise versa.
MDP MPs have alleged Nasheed to be purposefully sabotaging Parliament’s work and has broken the law on several occasions for personal gain, of all which Nasheed strongly decline.
While the Speaker of Parliament, Nasheed has recused himself from presiding over the parliamentary sessions, opposition MPs were saying that he could not preside over the impeachment session despite the rules as the no-confidence motion had been filed against him.
