The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has confirmed that a no confidence motion against Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed has been sent to the secretariat of the People’s Majlis.
MDP MP and Spokesperson Hamid Abdul Ghafoor speaking from the island of Thinadhoo confirmed to Minivan News that an estimated 26 signatures had been secured by the party to support the no confidence motion.
However, Ghafoor said he was not able at time of press to confirm the exact numbers of MPs expected to support the motion, or if the People’s Majlis had approved or set a date for a no confidence vote to take place.
Parliament’s Counsel General Fathmath Filza could also not be reached for comment today by Minivan News.
To have a no confidence motion heard within the People’s Majlis, officials regulations require signatures from 25 serving MPs. Support from a majority of the full membership of parliament during the vote is then needed to remove the Home Minister from his post.
As well as serving under the present coalition government of President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan, Dr Jameel served as Justice Minister with oversight of the judiciary during the autocratic rule of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, as well as being an active member of the former opposition party, the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP).
The case is the second no confidence motion to be proposed this month after MP Alhan Fahmy of the government-aligned Jumhoree Party (JP) said he had held discussions over taking a no confidence vote against both President Waheed and Vice President Mohamed Waheed Deen.
Addressing the motion proposed against Dr Jameel, MDP MP Imthiyaz ‘Inthi’ Fahmy claimed in local newspaper Haveeru that the action had been taken over concerns concerning what the party called an “unprecedented” increase in murders and assault in the Maldives since the transfer of power.
Inthi also criticised the Jameel for what he called a failure to probe human rights abuses allegedly conducted by police on February 8 this year.
Police Integrity Commission findings
In a Police Integrity Commission (PIC) report released earlier this month into allegations of police brutality in the breaking up of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s demonstrations held on February 8 provided two contradicting accounts of the events.
The report contended amongst it findings that on February 8 , police acted within the boundaries of the law and its own regulations, acting in accordance with Article 6(4) and Article 6(8) of the Police Act and as protection from any danger that may ensue from the MDP demonstrations.
President of the PIC, Shahindha Ismail, has however stated in the report that she saw certain acts carried out by police on February 8 to have been against the law, claiming that there no valid reason for police to have broken up the MDP demonstrations in the manner the police did.
Dr Jameel’s detention
During his time in opposition before February’s controversial transfer of power, Dr Jameel was an outspoken critic of Nasheed’s religious policies, authoring a pamphlet entitled ‘President Nasheed’s devious plot to destroy the Islamic faith of Maldivians’ and attacking his “business dealings with Jews”.
Under the former government, Dr Jameel was controversially detained by police on charges of slandering the government as a result of the publication, which authorities alleged at the time was a “pamphlet of hatred”.
Both Dr Jameel and DQP Deputy Leader of the Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) were not responding to calls by Minivan News at the time of press in regards to the no confidence motion.
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