The Parliamentary Group (PG) of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has issued a three-line whip to vote to remove Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla and defend Attorney General (AG) Ibrahim Riffath and Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid.
The Parliament of the Maldives has placed the no-confidence motions against AG Riffath, Minister Shahid, and Deputy Speaker Eva on the agenda. The no-confidence motion to remove Eva Abdulla as Deputy Speaker of the Parliament has been placed on the agenda for the sitting on June 11. The motion was filed after she began criticising MDP after leaving the party.
The MDP PG unanimously passed the motion to remove Eva Abdulla as Deputy Speaker prior to submitting the no-confidence motion with signatures from 50 lawmakers. The removal of the speaker or deputy speaker requires a no-confidence motion signed by at least one-fourth of the parliamentarians present at the sitting.
Meanwhile, the no-confidence motions against AG Riffath and Minister Shahid were filed with support from the main opposition Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and People’s National Congress (PNC), as well as Jumhooree Party (JP), Maldives National Party (MNP), and supporters of the Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed. The motions were filed over their alleged failure to act in the best interest of the Maldives in the maritime boundary dispute with Mauritius.
MDP has stated that the dispute was resolved by placing the interest of the Maldives as the highest priority and that it will not allow the no-confidence motions to be successful. The no-confidence motion against AG Riffath has been placed on the agenda for the sitting on May 31 and the motion against Minister Shahid is on June 6. A motion of no-confidence against a minister can be submitted with the signatures of at least 10 parliamentarians and a majority of 43 parliamentarians are required to pass the motion.