Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef who was presiding over the parliament sitting on Wednesday ignored the commotion created by MPs in the chamber.
Afeef chaired the sitting as speaker Mohamed Nasheed and deputy speaker Eva Abdulla were unavailable. Afeef was appointed as an interim speaker by Nasheed.
The session which began in the morning was adjourned when MPs began to argue over the new composition of standing committees.
Afeef said the sitting was adjourned to hold discussions between the political parties, but the issue was unresolved when the sitting resumed.
MPs who recently left the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to form The Democrats claimed the committees’ issue was tabled without discussing it with them.
The 13 MPs currently sit as independents in the parliament as the Elections Commission (EC) has not yet registered The Democrats as a political party.
They also disagree with the proposed new composition of the committees. The composition is based on the number of MPs in the parties represented in parliament.
MDP wants 64 percent in each committee, but the opposition claims the percentage has to be distributed between all the committees.
Maduvvari MP Adam Shareef was allowed to present an emergency motion when the sitting resumed after discussion.
Medhu Henveiru MP Ali Azim stands near Maduvvari MP Adam Shareef.
MDP MPs and the MPs who joined The Democrats were arguing over the issue while Shareef attempted to present his motion.
MPs began to take point of orders and said the committees’ composition issue must be removed from the agenda for the sitting to continue.
But Afeef said a decision on that will be made after completing the other items on the agenda.
He directed Shareef to continue presenting his emergency motion. But Medhu Henveiru MP Ali Azim rushed over and removed his microphone.
MPs gathered in front of the speaker.
Afeef did not advise the MPs to respect the rules despite the unruly behaviour and MDP MPs expressed concern over the speaker’s inaction.
However, Afeef warned MPs when they gathered in front of the speaker’s table and began protesting.
The live broadcast of the parliament showed Afeef receiving a phone call and answering it while sitting in the speaker's chair.
“Yes, concluding, concluding,” he was heard saying.
