Parliamentary rules for the impeachment of the President and Vice President were amended on Monday with changes to time frames and the procedural order.
After approval by committee, the proposed changes were passed at the Parliament floor with the votes of 44 MPs as 10 MPs voted against.
There were 68 MPs in attendance at the time. But 55 MPs participated in the vote and one MP abstained.
The procedure for the impeachment of President and Vice President is outlined in Chapter 41 of the Rules of Procedure formulated by the current 19th Parliament.
Amendments to sections 202 and 203 of the chapter were proposed by the Democrats' parliamentary group leader, Medhu Henveiru MP Ali Azim.
Changes brought to the rules
If a motion is moved to impeach the President and Vice President, the amendment made changes to the procedure and sequence in Parliament's rules to prevent it from being held at the Speaker's table. The changes are:
- Notice shall be sent within two days of receipt of the motion
- Hold a sitting to proceed with the motion after 14 days of sending notice to MPs
- The debate on such a case is three hours. The President or Vice President will have 30 minutes to speak in defence.
- A maximum of three lawyers may be brought to defend
- If the motion is debated and passed by a majority of the MPs, the matter shall be referred to the committee
- The committee has seven members
- A minimum notice of two hours must be provided in writing to request any information or document.
Responsibility of the Committee
The Parliamentary Committee on the Impeachment of the President and Vice President shall consider whether the matters mentioned in the case meet the circumstances prescribed in Article 100 of the Constitution. The President and Vice President shall have the right to appear before the Committee and speak in their defense.
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A motion to impeach the President and Vice President can only be moved with the signatures of one-third of the MPs.
The new amendment sets out the procedure to be followed once the motion is debated and the matter is received by the committee and the procedure to be followed once the report is received by the Speaker.
- Investigate the matter within five days and send the report to the Speaker
- A sitting of Parliament shall be held to decide on the report within two days of receipt by the Speaker
If the committee decides to impeach the President or Vice President, they shall be removed from office by a two-thirds majority of the total number of MPs.
