The Secretariat of the Parliament has sent a notice to Speaker Mohamed Nasheed over the no-confidence motion against him.
The main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) submitted the no-confidence motion with 49 signatures on October 9. Speaker Nasheed is required to respond to the motion within 14 days of receiving the notice.
MDP, which has the majority in Parliament, submitted the no-confidence motion after accusing Speaker Nasheed of hindering its work. The removal of the speaker or deputy speaker requires a majority vote from parliamentarians. Specifically, if all 87 members are present, a minimum of 44 members must vote in favour of the no-confidence motion to pass. MDP has 55 members in the Parliament.
The MDP Parliamentary Group (PG) previously submitted a no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla with 50 signatures on May 23 and against Speaker Nasheed with 54 signatures on June 14. The motions were withdrawn in September after members revoked their signatures, as there were challenges in placing them on the agenda. The difficulties arose from the concurrent submission of both motions around the same time.