MDP PG decides to remove Deputy Speaker Eva from her position

Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) parliamentary group (PG) decided on Thursday to remove Deputy Speaker of Parliament Eva Abdulla from her position.

The decision to remove Eva from her position was reached through consensus among the members who participated in the parliamentary meeting. The MDP, which holds 55 out of the total 87 parliamentary seats, has enough members to meet the constitutional requirement of 50 percent for a no-confidence motion.

Following Eva's submission of a resignation letter from MDP on Wednesday, the decision to dismiss her from her position as Deputy Speaker of Parliament was made. The Elections Commission (EC) later notified the parliament that Eva had been removed from MDP's registry.

The party, holding a significant majority in the parliament, opted to expel Eva was due to the party's preference for having an MDP member to fill the position and continue with the parliamentary duties.

A new political party called "Fikuregge Dhirun", meaning Reviving an Ideology, is to be formed under the leadership of Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed. However, Nasheed who is currently the President of MDP, is yet to leave the party.

The 12 MPs who recently resigned from MDP have announced their intention to position themselves as the minority party in the parliament, claiming that their group has a higher number of members compared to both PPM (Progressive Party of Maldives) and PNC (People's National Congress).

Parliament seats per party

MDP: 55

Fikuregge Dhirun: 13

Progressive Party of Maldives: 6

People's National Congress: 2

Jumhooree Party: 2

Maldives National Party: 3

Eva said on Wednesday that despite her resignation from MDP, she will not willingly step down from her position as Deputy Speaker. She said that despite that, she would not remain with MDP protect her position as the party's actions have undermined her core beliefs and ideologies.

According to Eva, the MDP's parliamentary group does not allow discussions on the fraudulent activities conducted by state-run companies within the parliament. Hence, she described her exit from MDP as "freedom from its political clutches".

Eva said that she had been subjected to threats to be removed from her positions within the party and expressed her unwillingness to remain in that situation.