The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has successfully garnered sufficient support to propose and potentially pass a motion of no-confidence against its own leader, Mohamed Nasheed, who currently serves as the speaker of Parliament. Following weeks of concern expressed by pro-government MDP members regarding Nasheed’s leadership style within the Parliament, the MDP’s parliamentary group voted to initiate the no-confidence motion on Tuesday.
According to a member of the MDP’s parliamentary group who spoke to local media, the motion of no-confidence against Nasheed has obtained the endorsement of 50 Members of Parliament (MPs). The source further stated that efforts are underway to formally submit the motion before the end of Tuesday.
Earlier, South Machangolhi MP Ahmed Haitham had shared on Twitter that the motion had already secured 45 signatures. The decision to pursue the no-confidence motion was prompted by Nasheed’s own introduction of a no-confidence motion against Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath, which had been submitted by the opposition alliance. This move was made due to alleged concerns over Riffath’s failure to act in the best interests of the Maldives in a disputed maritime area between the Maldives and Mauritius.
The second half of the debate on the aforementioned motion was scheduled to take place on Tuesday. However, the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) intervened by submitting a motion against Riffath, accusing him of violating parliamentary privileges. This motion was ultimately rejected by the MDP MPs, who possess a supermajority in Parliament.
Subsequently, a heated verbal exchange between both sides erupted, resulting in a loss of order and the early adjournment of the parliamentary session. It is noteworthy that, aside from Nasheed, there are 55 MDP MPs in the Parliament, meaning that a minimum of 43 votes is required to pass the motion of no-confidence.
