Debates in the parliament chamber previously took place before a vote. But the matter up for debate today was a report passed during an out-of-session sitting held on July 10. Reflecting the agenda, today's unruly sitting descended into chaos.
Parliament Secretary General Fathmath Niusha's statement before the sitting began made the situation of the house with 87 "honorable" MPs clear. Niusha said Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef was chosen to chair the sitting as the eldest MP for two reasons.
One reason was Speaker Mohamed Nasheed's absence from Male'. The other was Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla's recusal from presiding over sittings after a no-confidence motion was moved against her.
When the sitting began after the secretary general's statement, only 28 MPs out of 87 were in attendance. Seven MPs were on leave and five MPs were overseas on official trips. The rest did not inform the reason for their absence.
As the sitting began and the floor was opened for debate, Maafannu Medhu MP Ibrahim Rasheed spoke first but disregarded the matter up for debate.
As he started heavily criticizing the government, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) MPs raised their voices.
"The matter of the committees is what has been proposed. I urge you to proceed with that," Afeef said from the chair.
MPs quarrel with Afeef
At one point in the sitting, bickering between Afeef and some MPs escalated into a quarrel. It was kicked off by Afeef responding to Dhiggaru MP Ikram Hassan.
Afeef then gave the floor to Kelaa MP Ibrahim Shareef, who angrily censured the chair.
"The rules here definitely do not allow you from that desk, from that chair, to respond to what MPs say here, harass them and twist what they say - none of this is allowed by the rules," Shareef said.
In response, Afeef said in a tone of disapproval that the rules allow the chair to "clarify" issues. At that point, Shareef raised his voice and started quarreling with Afeef.
"Honorable MP, you can't quarrel with the [chair]," Afeef said.
After instructing him to speak on the subject at hand, Afeef ordered Shareef to leave the chamber. But despite repeated orders, Shareef remained in the chamber and continued protesting until the break.
