Despite parliament's rules prohibiting other work before an impeachment motion against the Speaker could be concluded, there is no obstacle for the President-Elect to take the oath of office as mandated by the constitution, the Attorney General's Office (AGO) said on Monday.
State Attorney Fathmath Haleem made the assertion at a Supreme Court hearing in a constitutional case filed by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) over stalled impeachment proceedings against Speaker Mohamed Nasheed.
According to the procedure laid out in section 205 of parliament's standing orders, a no-confidence motion against the Speaker must be tabled in the agenda and put to a vote in the first sitting scheduled after the motion's notice period ends.
The rules also stipulate that the impeachment motion must be concluded before either continuing debate or voting on any other matter before parliament.
But the constitution states that the President-Elect must take take the oath of office at a sitting of parliament.
Some MDP MPs have previously suggested that the majority party could obstruct the swearing-in ceremony.
In response to a question posed by Justice Husnu Suood with reference to their remarks, the state attorney said parliament's rules refer to two specific things that cannot be done, which were debating and voting on bills, resolutions or other matters before parliament.
The prohibitions do not cover the President-Elect taking the oath of office.
"It does not include the work of the swearing in the President referred to in article 114 of the constitution. And the constitution states that the new President must take the oath of office on the day that the current President's term ends," she said.
A regulation cannot prohibit a task mandated by the constitution, she added.
Section 205 of parliament's rules state that the Deputy Speaker must preside over a sitting with the impeachment of the Speaker on the agenda.
As Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla was on sick leave last week, the Parliament Secretariat canceled sittings with reference primarily to that provision.
The MDP petitioned the Supreme Court to declare that another MP could preside over the sitting to vote on the impeachment motion.
The party referred to section 44 of the rules, which states that the Speaker must assign five MPs to preside over sittings in the absence of both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker.
With Justice Mahaz Ali presiding, the five-judge bench of the Supreme Court hearing the case includes Justice Husnu Suood, Justice Azmirelda Zahir, Justice Ali Rasheed and Justice Dr. Ibrahim Mohamed.
Monday's hearing was adjourned to allow more time for The Democrats - which intervened in the case as a third party along with the Progressive Party of Maldives - to prepare as the party's intervention was accepted at 4 pm on the previous day.
