The Supreme Court has accepted the request submitted by The Democrats to intervene in the constitutional case regarding the no-confidence motion against Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed.
The Democrats decided to intervene in the case after the Supreme Court rejected the separate requests made by nine of their members. The Supreme Court stated that individual members could not intervene as it was a constitutional issue. The court has since accepted the request submitted by The Democrats to intervene as a party. The opposition coalition of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and the People's National Congress (PNC) has also been allowed to intervene in the case.
The main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (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.
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.