The Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) Parliamentary Group has blamed the disruption of today's parliament sitting to Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef, who chaired the sitting.
In a statement, MDP, the ruling coalition's main party expressed its belief that the standing committees would always remain and emphasized the importance of reconstituting these committees to ensure the continuity of the parliament. The parliamentary group said it cooperated with today's sitting because critical matters, including committee formation, were on the agenda.
"...The reconstitution of the standing committees of the parliament is of utmost importance in resolving the issues regarding the continuity of parliamentary proceedings," the statement said.
The majority of the 13 members who resigned from MDP to form a new political party called The Democrats were among those who disrupted today's sitting, claiming that the reconstitution of standing committees was not on the agenda. The parliament session was filled with loud protests, with allegations that committees were being reconstituted without their knowledge. The tension escalated to the point of physical altercations, while Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef, who was chairing the sitting, did not take any action.
However, MDP's parliamentary group stated that the matter of reconstituting the standing committees was placed on the agenda after three rounds of discussions involving all political parties and independent members in accordance with the parliament's regulations.
"While the parliament secretariat had provided two recommendations on the matter, neither of which was implemented during the sitting, the Chair allowed opposition members to disrupt the parliament and showed reluctance to comply with parliamentary regulations, ultimately ending the sitting," the statement said.
MP Afeef concluded today's parliament sitting abruptly after receiving a phone call, and his conversation was heard as the microphone had not been cut off. As soon as he picked up the call, Afeef was heard saying, "Yes, I'm ending [the sitting]," following which he concluded today's sitting.
In addition to expressing concern over the disruption of the sitting, the MDP's parliamentary group emphasized the importance of addressing the issue of important bills on the agenda for today's sitting. They also called upon the parliamentary secretariat and members to facilitate the resumption of the currently stalled work in the parliament.
The Democrats had raised the issue of the proposed change to the Committee on Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight in today's sitting.
The members expressed their concern that holding the government accountable would be challenging with 64 percent of the ruling MDP members on the Committee on Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight.
According to parliamentary regulations, there is no specific requirement for the composition of the Committee on Governmental Accountability and Fiscal Oversight. Currently, the committee consists of seven members from the MDP, which accounts for approximately 64 percent of the total committee.
The parliament regulations state that the representation of members in the standing committees should be considered equal to the representation of various parties in the parliament. While MDP has said that the party should have 64 percent representation in each committee based on this provision, opposition members argue that the MDP should only have 64 percent representation in the standing committees.
The committee's issue was placed on the agenda for today's sitting following the proposal submitted by the Secretary General of the parliament, Fathimath Niusha, to Speaker Mohamed Nasheed on how to resolve the matter and resume the parliamentary proceedings.
Sign In
