Parliament Speaker Mohamed Aslam and Deputy Speaker Ahmed Saleem have been issued today with formal notices regarding the no confidence motions submitted against them by ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC) coalition.
As per parliament regulations, notice has to be issued within 14 days of the submission of a no confidence motion.
Parliament Secretariat has confirmed that notices have been issued to both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker today in accordance with this regulation.
The no confidence motions against Aslam and Saleem have been signed by 23 parliamentarians.
They can each be voted out through majority votes of the parliamentarians in attendance at the time of voting.
When counted together, opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and The Democrats have 57 members. Government aligned members come to a total of 23.
PPM/PNC made the decision to submit the no confidence motion against Aslam and Saleem following the opposition's release of a whip line to refuse parliamentary approval to some members of President Dr Mohamed Muizzu's cabinet, which led to altercations on the parliament floor.
The motion accuses the Speaker and the Deputy Speaker of working in the interests of their party when presiding over the cabinet approval sittings, in contradiction to their responsibilities as outlined in the laws and Constitution.