As parliament members are actively engaged in campaigning for the September 9 presidential elections, Monday’s sitting of the parliament was cancelled due to low attendance.
Only 13 MPs showed up for the sitting, falling short of the quorum required for the 87-member parliament, which is 22.
The final session of 2023 has been marred by challenges, including no-confidence motions against both the parliament speaker and deputy speaker, as well as tactics employed by MPs to prevent the motions from proceeding.
Today’s sitting was intended to focus on the realignment of parliamentary committees and setting debate times for political parties in accordance with the new make-up of the parliament.
The realignment of parliamentary protocols in line with the political affiliations of MPs is crucial for the conduct of parliament’s affairs, including action on the no-confidence motions.
Fourteen MPs have crossed party lines to join Speaker Mohamed Nasheed’s newly formed The Democrats party. However, only three have applied to update their party affiliation in the parliament’s records, with two having officially re-joined the MDP.
This week, the parliamentary secretariat has also lodged complaints with the Maldives Police Service to investigate allegations of bribery involving parliament members crossing party lines.