Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Aslam has said that he will work to make the rest of the session as productive as possible and asked members to give their cooperation. He made the remarks after being elected as the new speaker following the resignation of Mohamed Nasheed from the position.
Addressing the Parliament sitting, Speaker Aslam said that parliamentarians should prioritise public interest and assured that the work will be conducted in accordance with the Constitution and the parliamentary regulations. He also thanked Nasheed for his service and contributions as speaker.
Speaker Aslam was elected after Nasheed submitted his resignation following a no-confidence motion that led to a stalemate in Parliament. Two names were proposed for the post during the subsequent sitting. They were Aslam and Ali Azim, the Parliamentary Group (PG) Leader of The Democrats. Aslam won with 53 votes, while Azim received 23 votes.
Speaker Aslam has served four subsequent terms in Parliament. He was first elected to Parliament in 2005 and is currently one of the longest serving members. Aslam has chaired various committees, such as the Parliamentary Committee on National Security Services. He has resigned as the PG Leader of main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) after taking over the duties of the speaker.