Parliament passes new ambassador to Sri Lanka with record-low votes

The parliament on Wednesday passed the appointment of Mohamed Hussain Shareef as the new Ambassador of the Maldives to Sri Lanka with only 28 votes in favour, which is a record low for the ruling coalition.

Wednesday’s sitting was also held under high security with Speaker Abdulla Maseeh escorted to the parliament chambers with security officers, who surrounded the speaker’s seat while opposition lawmakers protested and demanded that Maseeh step down. Maseeh commenced and continued the session amongst the chaos, despite the heated rows between lawmakers of the ruling coalition and joint opposition.