Fifty MPs back motion to remove Eva from deputy speaker post

Deputy speaker Eva Abdulla. -- Photo: Mirash Nashim

Deputy speaker Eva Abdulla. -- Photo: Mirash Nashim

A motion to remove the parliament’s deputy speaker Eva Abdulla was submitted on Tuesday with the backing of 50 MPs.

Eva was elected to the post following endorsement from the national council of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) which held a supermajority in parliament until last week.

She is among the 12 MPs that left MDP over the party’s expulsion of MP Ali Azim for his involvement in opposition activities. They are now working to form the Democrats party.

Adhadhu understands that 50 MPs signed the motion against Eva.

No confidence motions against the speaker and deputy speaker can be submitted with the support of one-fourth MPs.That is 22 of 87 seats.

According to the constitution, they can be removed with half the votes of 87 MPs. There are currently 56 MDP MPs.

Eva had been a senior member of MDP since its founding. She has served three terms in parliament through the MDP ticket.

She told reporters on Wednesday that she will not resign from the deputy speaker post despite leaving MDP.

“I'm not here to defend a post or to win a post. I did not join MDP to remain in the party even when its founding values were falling apart,” she stated.

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