Former President Mohamed Nasheed has resigned as Speaker of Parliament as a sitting got underway to vote on an impeachment motion to remove him from the post.
Addu Maradhoo MP Ibrahim Shareef was presiding over the sitting that began at 4:00 pm today.
The resignation letter was read out at the sitting and Nasheed also confirmed his resignation at the parliament floor.
"Instead of seeking a solution through the courts, political problems should be resolved within parliament and through discussions with each other outside of parliament. Through respect towards one another and by putting the national interest first and compromising. The reason is that there is no remedy the courts could provide for political problems," Nasheed's letter read.
Nasheed said in the resignation letter that the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the majority party, was acting in a manner that could narrow parliament's powers in perpetuity and that the party has gone to court and narrowed a prerogative of MPs.
"That the parliament's majority party's actions are on this path is deeply regrettable. An injustice done to the Maldivian people. In my view, if I remain as Speaker of Parliament any further, the damage done to parliament by the majority party will continue to increase. Therefore, I resign from the post of Speaker of Parliament," he said in the letter.
With his resignation, Nasheed said he hoped parliament would assist with reviving stability and integrity within the democratic system.
Resignation after chaos
MDP submitted no-confidence motions against Nasheed twice.
Nasheed was working to form The Democrats when the MDP started gathering signatures for a no-confidence motion in June.
Amid the squabble, MDP sought Nasheed's impeachment with the signature of 54 MPs, 10 more than the majority needed to pass such a motion.
The second no-confidence motion was submitted with the signature of 49 MPs.
On both occasions, Nasheed did not allow the motions to proceed through parliamentary procedures.
On the first occasion, parliament's legislative functions came to a halt as he declared a "deadlock" because no-confidence motions were pending against both the Speaker and Deputy Speaker at the same time when standing committees needed to be reconstituted.
After the MDP lost the first round of the presidential election, the impeachment motions were withdrawn to seek the support of The Democrats.
At the time, committees were reconstituted and parliament resumed functioning.
However, Nasheed's Democrats did not endorse the MDP for the second round.
As it became certain from the election results that the MDP would not win a second term, national council members said the party needed the Speaker's post to perform the role of a responsible opposition.
The party submitted a no-confidence motion against Nasheed for the second time after that.
But efforts to put the motion to a vote since October 29 proved unsuccessful with Nasheed's cousin - Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla - on sick leave.
Caught under a single provision in parliament's rules, the entire legislative branch came to a standstill.
Section 205(b) of parliament's rules state that the Deputy Speaker must preside over a sitting with a decision on the impeachment of the Speaker on the agenda.
The provision does not specify how to proceed if the Deputy Speaker is unable to preside.
With Eva on sick leave for over a week, Nasheed's impeachment remained stalled as the Secretariat canceled sittings with reference only to section 205(b).
The MDP petitioned the Supreme Court to declare that the cancelation of sittings after Nasheed's impeachment was tabled in the agenda violated both section 44 of parliament's rules and article 82(c) of the constitution.
In its judgment on the constitutional case, a five-judge bench of the Supreme Court ruled that one of five MPs assigned under section 44 to preside in Eva's absence could chair proceedings.
Despite the motion being tabled in every sitting scheduled since then, it was not allowed to proceed at all.
At the first sitting, the motion was declared void on the grounds that it did not meet requirements in the rules.
The chair at the time was Vilufushi MP Hassan Afeef, a close associate of Nasheed.
The decision not to proceed with the motion at the second sitting was made by Nasheed's cousin Eva.
Both decisions were wrong, Parliament's Secretary General Fathmath Niusha said.
Two sittings were held on Monday, November 13 as well with the impeachment motion on the agenda.
Eva presided over the first sitting in the morning and adjourned proceedings after declaring loss of order in the chamber.
On Sunday, parliament's general affairs committee advised the Secretariat that Eva and Afeef cannot preside over Nasheed's impeachment.
But the advice was not binding on the Secretary General.
MDP MPs said MP Ibrahim Shareef should preside with reference to section 44.
After the sitting ended, a new one was scheduled for 4 pm. Nasheed resigned during that sitting.
Parliament has not been functioning since Nasheed's impeachment was moved.
