Deputy Speaker Ahmed Saleem said today that Parliament is nearing its 100th year and that there is no need for new laws to be introduced every day.

Speaking while presiding over the parliamentary sitting, Saleem responded to criticism from opposition MDP members on social media, who claimed there was little work being carried out in Parliament.

Saleem said the Maldives already has most of the core legislation it needs, meaning the government cannot be expected to submit new bills every day.

"We have to understand that Parliament has been making laws for nearly 100 years. We are not going to have new laws to make every day," he said.

Responding to claims that Parliament has little to do because the government is not submitting bills, Saleem noted that opposition MPs also have the power to introduce legislation.

He said Parliament's role is not only to pass laws for new developments in the country, but also to amend existing legislation when necessary.

Parliament Majority Leader and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falaah also responded to claims that the Parliament has been inactive.

MP Falaah said the current Parliament has passed more bills during the same stage of its term than the 19th Parliament, during which the MDP held a supermajority.

"We compared the work carried out by both parliaments during the same period, and this Parliament has passed about 20 more bills," he said.

MP Falaah also added that MPs took only half of their allotted leave during parliamentary recesses, and that MDP members were criticizing Parliament on social media not because less work had been done.