Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has expressed concern that the deadlock in the Parliament of the Maldives is hindering human rights efforts at the legislative level.
In a press release, HRCM stated that the Parliament carries out important work related to the rights of the people and that the deadlock is hindering the process of guaranteeing human rights through the legal system. The commission also stated that the Parliament holds other state institutions accountable, and that halting parliamentary work obstructs the process of holding state powers accountable through checks and balances. It further expressed concern that the Parliament went to recess before deliberating on work related to the upcoming presidential election and that it will not be able to approve the appointment of a member to the Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) due to the deadlock.
Meanwhile, the Parliamentary Group (PG) of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has requested to hold an extraordinary sitting to deliberate on crucial parliamentary work. The Parliament went to recess despite PG Leader Mohamed Aslam’s motion to resume the session.
In a letter to the speaker, Majority Leader Aslam highlighted that the Parliament went to recess without re-forming the standing committees, which are needed to move forward with the no-confidence motions. As such, he requested the speaker to hold extraordinary sittings to deliberate important work such as re-forming the committees, making a decision on the no-confidence motions against the speaker and the deputy speaker, and amending the parliamentary regulations.
MDP submitted the request to hold an extraordinary sitting with 29 signatures. The speaker is required to hold an extraordinary sitting within 14 days if a request is submitted with signatures from one third of parliamentarians.