Parliament delays Media Commission vote over low turnout

Parliament was unable to vote on the appointment of members to the Maldives Media and Broadcasting Commission today due to insufficient attendance.

Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim, who chaired the sitting, announced that the vote could not be held as the required quorum of 47 MPs was not met.

He said that given the low turnout, no votes on other matters would be taken during the sitting either.

“I would like the [PNC] Parliamentary Group Leader to work to facilitate attendance in the upcoming sessions,” Nazim said.

According to Nazim, 17 MPs are currently on official trips, one is on leave, while 28 MPs were absent without notice. The Parliament has a total of 93 members.

The Committee on Independent Institutions had earlier endorsed three nominees for the Media Commission after conducting interviews and evaluations. The three candidates who scored above 75 percent were:

The Media and Broadcasting Commission consists of seven members; three appointed by Parliament and four selected by the media fraternity.

Four members were selected from the media without an election due to a lack of candidates contesting for the positions.