The parliament's general committee on Wednesday, October 18, decided to grant a 30-minute response time for Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed regarding the no-confidence motion submitted by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
Funadhoo MP Mohamed Shahid from MDP proposed allocating 30 minutes for the Speaker to respond and three minutes for each parliament MP to debate.
MP Shahid said that this procedure was followed during a similar motion submitted in the 18th term of the parliament. He added that the total time allocated for discourse was two hours.
MP Shahid proposed allocating 30 minutes, divided into three distinct response times of 10 minutes each, for the Speaker. He suggested allocating time for the Speaker to respond before, during, and at the conclusion of the motion's debate.
The Democrats' parliamentary group leader Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim requested for a few hours in response time. However, the parliament regulations state that the no-confidence motion's debate should not exceed three hours.
MP Azim argued that the three-hour allotment in the regulation was intended for the members to debate, excluding the responses provided by the Speaker.
The Democrats' PG leader requested to allow extra time for the Speaker to respond, noting that the regulation allowed it.
Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb, who supported this, said that in cases where the regulation lacks explicit instructions, it can be decided by the parliament committee.
During the debate regarding the regulation's interpretation, several members made 'off the record' statements and discussions, after which a vote was called for Shahid's proposition. The proposal was approved by four out of the seven members present in the committee.
The notice for the no-confidence motion, signed by 49 MDP members, was sent to Speaker Nasheed and other members. The motion will be tabled on October 29 after the 14-day notice period concludes.
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