The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has raised a complaint of breach of privilege against Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed. On behalf of the MDP parliamentary group, the complaint was raised by Maradhoo MP Ibrahim Shareef and garnered majority support from 37 members present, with 13 members voting against the motion.
Citing the parliamentary rules of procedure, Shareef argued that the Speaker is obligated to preside over a parliament session following the 14-day notice of a no-confidence motion filed against Vice-Speaker Eva Abdulla. However, Speaker Nasheed voluntarily recused himself from presiding over the scheduled sitting while actively participating in other parliamentary activities that day.
“This constitutes a violation of the rights of the entire parliament and an infringement upon parliamentary privilege,” Shareef said.
The motion asserts that Nasheed’s actions contravened both the Constitution and the rules governing parliamentary proceedings. Consequently, Maradhoo MP proposed an inquiry into Speaker Nasheed’s alleged infringement of parliamentary privileges.
According to parliamentary rules, any matter concerning privilege takes precedence over all other business, prohibiting further proceedings until a decision is made on the matter.