The parliament sitting scheduled for Tuesday has been cancelled over a fire accident that took place in the administration building on Monday night.
Lawmakers were informed that the session has been called off in order to take the necessary actions after the fire, which broke out inside a toilet cubicle around sunset on Monday.
It seems the incident was caused when a toilet paper roll caught aflame. Parliament’s Deputy Speaker Moosa Manik stated in an interview to state media that, according to State Electric Company (STELCO), the fire was not caused by any electrical faults.
“The cause of the fire is suspicious. There was black smoke inside the parliament,” he said.
However, Moosa Manik did not declare that it was arson, saying that more on the subject can only be said after the police investigation.
Meanwhile, lawmaker of Galolhu South constituency Ahmed Mahloof claimed in a tweet that the fire was arson. He raised questions whether the fire had been set in order to call off the parliament sittings.
Opposition lawmakers had protested inside the parliament chambers during Monday’s session over the parliament administration quashing the motion of no confidence filed by the opposition against Parliament Speaker Abdulla Maseeh and over some lawmakers being arrested and not allowed to attend parliament sittings. Speaker Maseeh was only able to enter the chambers under heavy security protection and chaired the session for a few minutes before leaving.
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