MDP boycotts parliament sitting, Eva seeks to reach quorum

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the ruling majority in the parliament, has boycotted today's parliamentary session.

While the MDP aims to proceed with the no-confidence motion against Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, the agenda for today's meeting is to present the state budget and supplementary budget.

Although most MPs arrived at the parliament before the start of the sitting, they remained outside the parliament premises.

Speaking at the start of the sitting, Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla said that the party, which holds the majority in the parliament, is waiting outside without meeting the quorum for today's sitting.

She expressed her intention to try to meet the quorum even if the members do not plan to attend the session. Even if the members intend not to attend the sitting, she will try to meet the quorum, Eva said.

"I will wait until the quorum is reached," Eva said. "I will do my best to proceed with today's sitting."

The Deputy Speaker stated that parliamentary regulations and the recent verdict from the Supreme Court mandate the state to proceed with the budget presentation. Eva emphasized that the verdict clearly indicates that even if a no-confidence motion has been submitted in parliament, essential work can still be carried out.

"These factors were taken into consideration, and the state budget was promptly added to the agenda," Eva said.

Finance Minister Ibrahim Ameer was requested to attend the parliament, but he had earlier declined to attend the sitting on the advice of the Attorney General. Eva, however, stated that the Supreme Court's verdict made it clear that the recommendation was incorrect.

However, Minister Ameer informed the parliament that he was unable to attend the session due to health reasons.

"It is not solely because the Finance Minister is not present that the sitting will not commence today. Whether the Finance Minister will attend or not will also be decided if the quorum is reached," Eva said.

The main concern of MDP members is that the no-confidence motion against Speaker Nasheed will not be proceeded.

While the parliament chair decided to dismiss the no-confidence motion during yesterdays sitting, an investigation has been initiated into the alleged breach of parliament privilege by Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla and Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef.