Attorney General Ahmed Usham alleges that The Democrats are refusing to grant him parliamentary approval based on the matter of their founder Mohamed Nasheed having been removed from his position as Parliament Speaker.
Although both opposition parties The Democrats and Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) have announced that they will not be voting in favour of granting parliamentary approval to the Attorney General, neither has yet stated the justification behind the decision.
Speaking to Mihaaru News, Usham said that he perceives the refusal to give him approval as being personal in nature. He believes that the decision to refuse approval to him is being led by The Democrats, and is in relation to Nasheed's dismissal as Speaker previously.
"Some quite senior officials of MDP have called me, saying this has nothing to with my capability. They said that this is because The Democrats do not want to give me approval, they do not want to grant approval for me to stay on as AG," Usham said.
"From what I have heard, it's because I challenged The Democrats' stance when they said the no confidence motion against Nasheed cannot be proceeded. They believe that Nasheed's case went the way it did because of my words," he told Mihaaru News.
"MDP approves of everything I said that day. Based on what I said that day, I am being denied parliament approval today. So it is quite evident that this is not being done in accordance with any principles or norms, this is purely personal."
Alleging that the opposition is acting in contravention of the Constitution itself, Usham said the Constitution clearly states that personal prejudices or interests should not intervene in actions.
While the parties have not elaborated on why Usham is being refused approval, he has faced the most criticism regarding the work to recover the ocean territory the administration claims was lost under the ITLOS ruling.
There is also the matter of the President dissolving the Settlement Committee on the advice of AG Usham, with the State now reviewing the settlements that have been granted through the committee.
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