The Attorney General's Office (AGO) will be representing the Secretariat of the Parliament in the constitutional case filed at the Supreme Court by the main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) regarding the stalled no-confidence motion against Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed.
The Supreme Court has scheduled the first hearing for November 6. The judges' bench will consist of Justice Mahaz Ali Zahir, Justice Azmiralda Zahir, Justice Husnu Suood, Justice Ali Rasheed Hussain, and Justice Dr. Mohamed Ibrahim.
MDP submitted the no-confidence motion against Speaker Nasheed 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. In a recent letter to the Parliament, Deputy Speaker Eva said that she has recused herself from presiding over a sitting until the court case has concluded, as making any decision regarding the no-confidence motion would interfere with the case.
Moreover, the Attorney General earlier advised Minister of Finance Dr. Ibrahim Ameer to refrain from attending any Parliament sitting until the conclusion of the no-confidence motion. As such, the Finance Minister did not attend a sitting to give a statement after submitting the proposed state budget for next year.
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.
MDP filed the case at the Supreme Court claiming that the Parliament has violated Article 82 of the Constitution and Article 44 of the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament. Speaker Nasheed's party, The Democrats, and the main opposition coalition consisting of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and the People's National Congress (PNC) have decided to intervene in the case.