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Parliament treading on egg shells

Farah Ahmed
24 August 2017, MVT 15:05
Eggs on the parliament floor -- the last sitting of the second term of the parliament saw eggs flying over the parliamentarians heads. PHOTO / TWITTER
Farah Ahmed
24 August 2017, MVT 15:05

The last sitting of this term’s parliament sitting held Thursday took an unexpected turn, with eggs flying over the lawmakers' heads inside the parliament chamber.

According to ruling Progressive Party of Maldives' (PPM) parliamentary group leader, Villimale MP Ahmed Nihan, the parliament’s speaker Abdulla Maseeh’s chair was egged before the sitting commenced.

He blamed the opposition lawmaker of Galolhu South constituency Ahmed Mahloof for hatching the plan to bring eggs into the parliament; however, MP Mahloof was quick to refute the claims, and blamed the deputy speaker of the parliament, Hulhu-Henveiru MP Moosa Manik, instead.

MP Manik immediately refuted these claims and whisked away from the scene.

Several lawmakers – pro-government and the opposition – were slathered in egg by the end of the sitting.

One MP had pointed at egg shells that were laced on the parliament’s floor and cried, “here is the majority of the parliament,” while another was seen slipping on egg yolks and falling.

An MP lathered in egg --

However, in a turn of events, MP Mahloof later shared a video that showed ruling party's MP Ahmed Assad with a bag of eggs.

According to MP Mahloof, MP Assad remained suspiciously calm throughout the chaotic parliament sitting, and when he approached the MP, he was trying to conceal something under his desk.

MP Mahloof’s was heard saying “I see it! I see it,” in the video that he shared, at which point MP Assad turns around to face the opposition MP’s phone, on which he was live-streaming Thursday’s parliament session. The MP gets up, evidently discontented by the opposition MP, but also clearly revealing a bag of eggs in his hand.

MP Assad could not be reached at the time for a comment.

MP Mahloof maintained that bringing eggs to the parliament was the government lawmakers doing, and not an opposition plan.

The parliament administration does not allow vuvuzelas and other items such as eggs inside the parliament chamber after several incidents of MPs using instruments to cause disruptions at sittings.

Amidst today’s scrambled sitting, the parliament managed to approve the appointment of Ahmed Naseer as the new governor of Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) with 33 pro-government MPs voting in his favour.

Opposition MPs did not partake in the vote.

The session was conducted under high security, with several security officers surrounding the speaker’s seat while lawmakers from the ruling party and the opposition coalition exchanged heated verbal fights – glazed with some eggs.

The third term of parliament for this year will commence in October.

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