After both the Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed and Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla recused from presiding over the parliament sitting, Vilifushi MP Hassan Afeef has been appointed to chair the parliament’s session.
During Monday's parliamentary session, the Secretary General (SG) of the parliament, Fathimath Niusha, announced that both Speakers, Mohamed Nasheed and Eva Abdulla, had recused themselves from presiding over the sittings. This decision was made in light of the no-confidence motions that had been filed against them. The Secretary General also confirmed that the secretariat had received the motions.
“According to Article 44 (e) of the parliament regulations, Vilifushi MP Hassan Afeef has been appointed as the parliament’s chair,” SG Niusha announced.
According to Article 44 of the parliament regulations, if both the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker recuse themselves from chairing a parliamentary session, the Speaker appoints the five members of parliament who have consecutively served the longest terms to serve as chairs.
However, the regulation also stipulates that such members can only chair three consecutive sessions.
Although Afeef has been appointed as the parliament chair, the decision was not welcomed by the majority of ruling Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) parliamentary group. These members argued that Dhaalu Meedhoo MP Ahmed Siyam Mohamed has been the longest serving member, and as such, should have been appointed as the chair instead.
The ruling party members created a commotion inside the chambers during Monday’s sitting, discontent with the parliament’s decision while some of them had interrupted the proceedings by raising points of order. Due to the interruptions by MDP members, the inquiry of Minister of Transport Aishath Nahula could not proceed.
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