Parliament today failed to meet quorum requirements, forcing the day’s sitting to be adjourned amid growing uncertainty surrounding Deputy Speaker and senior PNC member Ahmed Nazim.
The sitting, scheduled to begin at 9am, was initially delayed until 10am after an insufficient number of MPs attended.
Under parliamentary regulations, at least one quarter of members must be present for a sitting to proceed.
With 93 members in the 20th Parliament, a minimum of 23 MPs is required to form a quorum.
“I cancel today’s sitting under article 49(b) of the Parliament Regulations as the quorum was not reached when the session was rescheduled to start at 10am,” Nazim said while presiding over the sitting.
He later announced that Parliament would reconvene at 9am on Thursday, despite Thursdays not usually being designated for regular sittings. Several committee meetings scheduled for today were also cancelled.
The agenda for the sitting included sending the names of newly appointed ambassadors to committee for approval and holding preliminary debates on two government backed bills; the Cyber Security Bill submitted by Henveiru Central MP Hussain Nasih, and the Protection of Personal Information Bill submitted by Henveiru West MP Mohamed Ali.
Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla is currently out of Male', leaving Nazim to preside over sittings this week.
While the Parliament sitting was adjourned, Nazim was removed from the PNC parliamentary group’s WhatsApp group earlier today. The reason behind the move has not been publicly disclosed.
The group is administered by President and PNC leader Dr Mohamed Muizzu.
Speculation over Nazim’s position within the ruling party has intensified following the PNC’s losses in the recent local council elections and referendum vote. Rumors have circulated in recent days that members were preparing either a no-confidence motion against him or a petition seeking his removal as vice speaker.
However, Parliamentary Group leader Ibrahim Falah denied the claims when asked by local media, saying no such effort was underway and that there was no reason for such action.
