Wednesday’s parliament sitting was adjourned following heated disagreements between MPs over the reconstitution of standing committees.
Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef who was chairing the sitting announced that the first item on the agenda was an emergency motion from Maduvvari MP Adam Shareef.
MP Shareef from the opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) was speaking when he was interrupted due to arguments in the chamber.
Medhu Henveiru MP Ali Azim, Henveiru Hulhangu MP Hassan Latheef and Ungoofaaru MP Mohamed Waheed were arguing with ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs over the reconstitution of committees.
They took point of orders and complained over MDP’s proposal for the new composition of the committees.
Speaker Afeef said the issue was on the agenda and that MPs would have the opportunity to debate later during the session. He, then, adjourned the sitting for discussions between parties.
Impeachment motion and committees' reconstitution
The ruling MDP, which also holds parliament majority, is seeking to impeach both the speaker and deputy speaker.
According to parliament's rules, the procedures for the impeachment sittings must be approved by the general affairs committee.
The rules stipulate the general affairs committee to decide on the number of MPs who could speak in the debate and the time allocated for each speaker.
However, standing committees have yet to be reconstituted after the departure of 13 MPs from MDP on May 17.
The composition of the standing committees is based on the number of MPs in the political parties represented in parliament.
Parties have not been able to reach an agreement on the new composition and membership of the committees.
MDP wants 64 percent in each committee, but the opposition parties claim the percentage has to be distributed between all the committees.
Amendments to rules of procedure
Wednesday’s parliament sitting has begun without including the no-confidence motion against deputy speaker Eva Abdulla in the agenda.
According to clause 205 (c) of the parliament’s rules of procedure, the secretary general must issue a notice of no-confidence motions within three days of submission and move the motions 14 days after the notice.
The 14-day period ended on Sunday.
Eva's motion scheduled for Tuesday was adjourned as there was no one to preside over the sitting. Speaker Mohamed Nasheed decided to step away from duties until his motion was resolved.
But the rules of procedure stipulate that the speaker must preside over the sitting to move a no-confidence motion against the deputy speaker.
MDP’s parliamentary group leader Mohamed Aslam sent a letter to parliament’s secretary general Fathimath Niusha requesting to table the proposed amendments.
