The bill, submitted by ruling People's National Congress (PNC)'s Holhudhoo MP Abdul Sattar Mohamed, was passed by 68 votes in favor. Only PNC members supported the bill. Nine members voted against the bill.
Huraa MP Anara Naeem, who did not vote in the Parliament Judiciary Committee for the bill to amend the Judicature Act to reduce the number of judges on the Supreme Court bench from seven to five, voted in favor of the amendment bill in Parliament.
MP Anara voted in favor of the bill, which would have removed two Supreme Court judges from their posts. However, while the bill was passed by Parliament today through a roll call vote, Anara, who is also the vice-chairperson of the committee, expressed concern over the bill during the committee review yesterday.
She raised concerns about the process of removing judges being shortened to just seven days but chose not to propose any amendments to the article.
Anara voted against the bill when asked to pass it as it stood in the committee last night.
The bill, submitted by ruling People's National Congress (PNC)'s Holhudhoo MP Abdul Sattar Mohamed, was passed by 68 votes in favor. Only PNC members supported the bill. Nine members voted against the bill.
The bill was passed by a roll call vote as Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla stated there was a problem with the voting system.
PNC had issued a three-line whip in support of the bill, but some members did not participate, including Hithadhoo Central MP Ahmed Azan.
Azan also abstained from a previous vote on the bill and was subsequently removed from the PNC parliamentary group’s WhatsApp group.
PNC parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Falah has warned that disciplinary action will be taken against those who went against the whip.
Azan attended the parliamentary session today but left the floor when it was time for the vote.
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