Deputy Speaker's ailment postpones Nasheed's no-confidence sitting

The parliamentary session scheduled for Sunday, October 29, with the no-confidence motion against Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed on the agenda, could not proceed due to Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla being on sick leave.

After the no-confidence motion's 14-day notice period expired, parliament secretariat put the no-confidence sitting on agenda for this Sunday and was accordingly notified to the MPs.

The motion was submitted with the vote of 49 Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) members.

Eva, who has been on leave since last week due to health conditions had already notified the secretariat of her condition ahead of Sunday's sitting as well.

"Eva submitted her leave notice due to health conditions," parliament's Director of Communications Hassan Ziyau said.

It was reported that Eva tested positive for dengue after she suffered from fever last week.

Parliament regulations dictate that the Deputy Speaker must preside as the chair of the sitting with the no-confidence motion against the Speaker. The regulation however, does not provide clear provisions instructing the next step if the Deputy Speaker is on sick leave.

The no-confidence motion against Speaker Nasheed, which was set to proceed on Sunday, faced a delay. The MDP parliamentary group had earlier alleged that this delay was a conspiracy orchestrated by The Democrats to hinder the Speaker's dismissal.

While the MDP said that the law offers a solution to proceed with the no-confidence proceedings even in the absence of Eva, the ruling party has not provided any specific details regarding this remedy.

The previous no-confidence motion against the Speaker had stalled for similar reasons.

Previously, the MDP submitted no-confidence motions against both Speaker Nasheed and Deputy Speaker Eva. Following this, they refused to preside over the sittings, citing the existence of the motions. Consequently, a deadlock ensued in the parliament, causing other legislative activities to be put on hold as well.

Meanwhile, MDP, which holds the parliament majority, said it would not support other parliamentary works without first addressing the no-confidence issue.

The party further said that it would refuse to acknowledge President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu's swearing-in ceremony scheduled for November 17 if Nasheed continues to hold the position of Parliament Speaker. MDP further asserted that it would not approve Dr. Muizzu's cabinet if the issue involving Nasheed persisted.