The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) will put forward a no-confidence motion against the speaker, Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) MP Abdulla Shahid, spokesperson for MDP’s parliamentry group Mohamed Shifaz said today.
Parliament was cancelled again today because of chaos in the chamber. Police blockaded streets around the parliament and presidential palace in the wake of running protests, while a political gathering at the artificial beach this evening erupted into violence and was dispersed by police using tear gas.
”We do not believe that a man under such pressure can do anything correctly,” Shifaz said, accusing Shahid of siding with the opposition coalition ”most of the time”.
”He adds things to the agenda against the procedures of parliament,” Shifaz said. ”If there is a bill that makes things difficult for the government, that is the first thing he wants to discuss.”
Shifaz said the MDP MPs were “still unsure” about their security and safety inside the parliament chamber after yesterday’s brawl, and had sought reassurance from the speaker.
In a letter posted on parliament’s website, Shahid said he had requested that police investigate the incident, and adding that “what happened inside the chamber was not acceptable behaviour for a parliamentary debate”.
In addition, he said he had ”no pressure on me from any political party. I call on all the political parties to cooperate with each other.”
Shahid insisted he “had control of the parliament”, and said he did not wish to comment on the no-confidence motion reportedly being drafted against him. Instead, he called on MPs to cooperate and continue work.
DRP MP Ali Waheed, Ahmed Ilham, and Vice president Umar Naseer did not respond to Minivan News at time of press.
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