People's National Congress (PNC) Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim Falah has stated today that he has no intention of running for the position of Deputy Speaker of Parliament.
Ruling party and super majority PNC members signed a no-confidence motion against former Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim, with him having resigned from the position earlier today.
This has sparked debates as to who will be elected for the position. Rumors have spread stating that Falah, Baarah constituency MP Ibrahim Shujau and Mahibadhoo constituency MP Ahmed Thoriq (Tom) are leading the race.
However, Falah told Mihaaru News that he has no intention of running for the position, and shared this on an X post as well. Falah's current position as the PG Leader is one of the most influential positions within the party.
Shujau told Mihaaru News that he has not decided whether he will be running for the position. There has been no comment from Thoriq, one of the more senior members in PNC, as of yet regarding the matter.
Following Nazim's resignation, Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla announced during the morning sitting that another sitting would be held at 1pm. However, Parliament Secretariat later announced that the sitting had been rescheduled for tomorrow as PNC is currently undecided as to who should run for the position.
Sources have stated that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has not given any instruction to the party on how to proceed yet.
Nazim has denied the allegations against him and has released a statement regarding the matter. According to the resolution submitted to the parliament with the signatures of 73 parliamentary group members of PNC to pass the no-confidence motion against Nazim, one of the reasons cited for the no-confidence motion is the allegation that he uses the influence of his position to obtain undue advantages. The second allegation stated in the resolution is that he encourages the disruption of the parliament's harmony and evades responsibility.
According to Nazim, he fulfilled his role as the Deputy Speaker with honesty and fairness, and within the rules of the law. He said that under no circumstances has he evaded the responsibility of his position.
Nazim said that even though the contents of the resolution submitted against him by PNC members is untrue, he believes that stepping down from an elected position when requested is the civilized course of action as it should be in a democracy.
Nazim secured the post of Deputy Speaker after receiving 80 votes in the vote taken among the members of the parliament. MDP's Maradhoo Constituency Member Ahmed Didi, who contested against Nazim, received 12 votes. While the decision was made to remove him from the post of Deputy Speaker, he had also previously served as the Deputy Speaker in the 17th Parliament.
