The opposition coalition of Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and the People's National Congress (PNC) has decided to intervene in the Supreme Court case regarding the no-confidence motion against Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed.
The PPM/PNC coalition made the decision after The Democrats announced it would be intervening in the case. The Democrats stated that it made the decision to intervene in the Supreme Court case filed by the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) as it is an issue concerning the Parliament.
The Supreme Court has accepted the Constitutional case filed by MDP to find a resolution on the stalled no-confidence motion. MDP submitted the no-confidence motion with 49 signatures on October 9. Speaker Nasheed was required to respond to the motion within 14 days after receiving the notice. However, the last few sittings were cancelled after Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla filed for sick leave.
MDP stated that the parliamentary regulations dictate that if the Speaker or Deputy Speaker is unable to preside over a sitting, the senior most member appointed by the Speaker should take charge. However, the Secretary General of Parliament stated that the regulations specify that only the Deputy Speaker can preside over a no-confidence motion against the Speaker, and there are no explicit provisions for situations where the Deputy Speaker is unavailable for this duty. The Parliamentary Group (PG) of MDP has stated it will not support any work in the Parliament until the no-confidence motion is concluded.