Majority Leader of the Parliament of the Maldives Mohamed Aslam has stated that there is no need to seek an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court to resolve disagreements after Attorney General (AG) Ibrahim Riffath responded to his no-confidence motion via a written response.
Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed decided to seek an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court after discussions with leaders of the political parties failed to resolve the issue. Speaker Nasheed said that the opposition coalition believes that AG Riffath only has the right to respond via a written response along with documentary evidence. He further said that he has decided to seek an advisory opinion from the Supreme Court in order to correctly interpret the Constitution when proceeding with the no-confidence motion.
At the sitting, Parliamentary Group (PG) Leader of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Mohamed Aslam said it was unacceptable that the speaker decided to halt the no-confidence motion after giving AG Riffath the opportunity to respond via a written response. He said that the AG has acted in accordance with the Constitution and the parliamentary regulations and that the Supreme Court does not need to be involved in the issue.
Also at the sitting, Deputy PG Leader of MDP Hussain Shaheem said that the issue has nothing to do with the Constitution and that the speaker should not drag out the issue for political purposes.