The Parliament has postponed the approval of President Mohamed Muizzu’s new cabinet due to outstanding legal and procedural concerns. This decision follows the President’s recent submission for parliamentary approval of revised ministry mandates, a requirement under law.
During Monday’s parliamentary session, opposition MDP MP Hisaan Hussein raised critical legal issues, questioning the legality of proceeding with the scheduled cabinet nomination votes. Hussein emphasised that the mandates of the ministries, which are subject to parliamentary approval, had not yet been submitted by the President’s Office. Additionally, she highlighted that the government oversight committee’s report on the matter was incomplete.
Speaker Mohamed Aslam, presiding over the session, accepted Hussein’s point of order after consultation with party leaders. He announced the committee’s report did not meet the stipulations of Article 200 of the parliament’s regulations, thereby necessitating its return to the committee.
The decision led to dissatisfaction among members of the ruling PPM-PNC coalition, who argued that a floor vote was necessary to revert the motion to the committee.
Attorney General Ahmed Usham weighed in, clarifying the distinct constitutional processes for submitting ministry mandates and approving ministers. Usham recalled a similar sequence in 2018, where ministerial approvals preceded the submission of ministry mandates.
The government’s chief spokesperson, Mohamed Shaheeb, noted that the approval of cabinet ministers and ministry mandates have been separate procedures since 2008. Despite not commenting on parliamentary proceedings, Shaheeb asserted that the government was actively working on the mandates.