Parliamentary Group (PG) of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has issued a three-line whip to vote to remove Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed.
At a press conference, PG Leader Mohamed Aslam said that the members at a meeting unanimously voted to issue the three-line whip, adding that he would not allow any further work in Parliament without taking the matter forward. He also said that he would not cooperate on any matter in the Parliament until the vote is taken. The current matters of the parliament include holding the swearing-in ceremony of the President-elect.
MDP submitted the no-confidence motion against Speaker Nasheed with 49 signatures on October 9. The motion has been placed on the agenda for October 29 and the MDP PG agreed to have all members present for the vote. 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 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 The motions were withdrawn in September after members revoked their signatures, as there were challenges in placing them on the agenda.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.