President ratifies amendment seeking to establish an official residence for Majlis speaker

The first amendment to the Parliamentary Privileges and Powers Act has been ratified.

The newly ratified amendment has been publicized in the government gazette, after President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih made the ratification on Wednesday.

The legislation was passed by the People’s Majlis during its 14th sitting of the second session of the ongoing year, on June 21.

The first amendment to the Parliamentary Privileges and Powers Act mandates the government to establish an official residence for the Speaker of Parliament and family.

In addition to this, the legislation stipulations that the government must bring a number of improvements to the security of the Majlis Speaker and family, including the provision of round-the-clock security services by the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF).

The state-endorsed bill was submitted by MP for Feydhoo constituency Mohamed Nihad, who stated that the amendment is crucial for the security and safety of the parliament speaker. He went on to highlight the purposes of bringing the amendment, noting that an official residence for the speaker must be allocated by the state in order to strengthen the security being provided to Mohamed Nasheed, the speaker who was recently targeted by a group believed to be extremists.

The legislation also adds two more clauses to Section 27 of the Majlis laws and regulations, which will entail the need to establish an official residence for the speaker of parliament as well as family – including spouse, children and parents - as well as mandating the state to arrange all costs for the residence and appointing required staff.

The official residence is required to be located somewhere where security is ensured. The parliament will be allocating the required staff to the official residence of the speaker.

Incumbent speaker Nasheed was targeted with an assassination attempt on May 6, as he was heading out to attend an event in an island. The attack, which saw a remote-controlled IED explode near his residence in the center of Malé City, caused serious injuries to the ex-president who was rushed to the hospital within seven minutes after being knocked to the ground by the blast, which was dubbed far more powerful than the explosion in Sultan Park, 2007. He is currently seeking further treatment in Germany and promises to return to Maldives, with a stronger will.