Parliamentary Group (PG) of main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has stated that Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed intends to remain in his position despite facing a vote of no-confidence.
At a press conference, PG Leader of MDP Mohamed Aslam said that the deadlock in Parliament would be resolved if the speaker and deputy speaker resign from their positions. He also expressed concern regarding the lack of progress on the agenda during the recent extraordinary sitting and criticised the Secretariat of the Parliament for suspending parliamentary work without considering the members' concerns or opinions. He added that a motion has been submitted to hold another extraordinary sitting.
Additionally, Majority Leader Aslam claimed that the speaker does not support the efforts of the MDP PG to continue parliamentary works in accordance with the regulations. He said the best course of action is for the speaker and deputy speaker to resign due to the loss of confidence and allow the Parliament to continue its work.
The extraordinary sitting was held on July 3 after the MDP PG submitted a motion to hold the sitting to complete all important pending works. The agenda included the re-formation of the standing committees but the sitting concluded without making a decision on the matter.
MDP has expressed concern over the Parliament going to recess before deliberating on important matters such as re-forming the committees. The Parliament decided to re-form the committees after changes were made to the register following the resignation of 12 members from MDP. The Parliament has since been in a deadlock with crucial matters such as no-confidence motions against the speaker and deputy speaker being stalled. These motions require the General Purpose Committee to assign time for debates.