No confidence motion against Home Minister Imran fails at parliament

The parliament, on Monday, decided in favour of Minister of Home Affairs Abdulla Imran during the vote of no-confidence lodged by the opposition coalition of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC).

Only 11 parliamentarians voted against Home Minister Imran.

MDP parliamentary group leader and Henveiru Central MP Ali Azim had previously asserted that the party's stance opposed the motion against Imran.

Submitted with the signatures of 11 parliamentarians, the opposition's no confidence motion highlighted Imran's problematic public rhetoric concerning three high profile cases, including the murder of former MP Dr Afrasheem Ali, the enforced disappearance of journalist Ahmed Rilwan and the safari sexual assault case.

As per the motion, Home Minister Imran made comments concerning the murder of Dr Afrasheem during a nationally broadcasted radio programme which contradicted earlier statements.

Additionally, the document highlighted that Imran claimed, on October 21, that evidence connecting Rilwan's disappearance to former Vice President Ahmed Adeeb and senior officials of the past administrations, went missing.

It was particularly noted that Imran's remarks minimizing the severity of the safari sexual assault case implied undue influence over an ongoing investigation and delivered a blow to public confidence that perpetrators of gender-based violence would be brought to justice.

Speaking on air during a programme on national radio station 'Dhivehi Raajjeyge Adu' on October 24, the minister stated that the case was a "minor" incident that "could have been perpetrated in a public space" without attracting attention.

Speaking at the parliament on Monday, Imran maintained his stance that he had not intended to minimize the assault case and went on to assert that the no confidence motion was baseless.

According to the minister, the opposition's no confidence motion was an attempt to erase the progress attained by the government over the past two years.

Minister Imran is the president of the religiously conservative Adhaalath Party, which is one of the three major political parties included in the ruling coalition.