Real agenda behind parliament's phony overtime
The 20th People's Majlis faces criticism for prioritizing political vendettas over legislative duties despite a massive ruling party majority. While constitutional amendments are rushed through in minutes, the parliament has suffered from frequent unexplained cancellations and long periods of inactivity. The current term extension, officially meant for public interest, is reportedly being used solely to fast-track a no-confidence vote against the Deputy Speaker.
Speaker of the People's Majlis Abdul Raheem Abdulla (L) and Deputy Speaker of the Majlis Ahmed Nazim (R). | RaajjeMV
The 20th People's Majlis manages to be a completely unprecedented legislative circus in every single way. With President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) lounging on a massive mega-majority, the current parliament operates less like an independent body and more like a collection of cheerleaders handpicked exclusively to worship the president.
The moment the incumbent tosses a bill onto the chamber, the floor turns into an echo chamber of identical thank-you notes directed at the head of state, which apparently passes for debate these days.
This legislative body boasts a spectacular talent for wrapping up floor discussions in under two hours, but its behavior during the committee phase is where things get truly bizarre.
Five minutes for the constitution, a month for nothing
When it comes to altering foundational laws or rewriting the actual constitution, the committees routinely burn through these monumental decisions in a grand total of five minutes.
However, by some bizarre twist of logic, inconsequential bills that demand absolutely zero brainpower can drag on in committee for longer than a month.
A glance at the opening session of this year reveals that a grand total of only 19 sittings have actually taken place. The parliament crawled back from a lengthy two-month vacation on February 5, after which transparency vanished entirely regarding why scheduled meetings kept getting axed.
Sittings were held on February 10 and 11, but then the chamber went dark until February 17. Next came a staggering three-week disappearance before the doors opened again on March 8.
Rules: just a suggestion for the ruling party?
The endless cycle of disruptions never stopped. Meetings throughout April 2026 were repeatedly wiped off the calendar without anyone bothering to explain why. Following a massive 35-day void of doing nothing, the Majlis finally gathered its members on April 13. Even though there are strict, established rules dictating exactly when these sessions are supposed to happen, nobody in the PNC hierarchy seems to care about the rulebook, treating the entire lawmaking process as a part-time recreational hobby rather than a serious constitutional obligation.
The theater has recently spiraled into even more ridiculous territory. The initial term of the 2026 Majlis was supposed to wrap up on May 15, with the standing regulations dictating that the grand finale take place on either the final Thursday or Monday of that term.
Instead, Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla came forward with a plan to stretch out the timeline. Even though the official final sitting wrapped up last Thursday, he pushed to keep the term alive, wrapping the extension in the noble excuse of critical, unfinished business.
The mystery of the missing sittings
At the tail end of that Thursday sitting, Abdul Raheem declared that everyone would meet again on Monday. Naturally, Monday's sitting was called off without a single line of explanation. Despite extending the parliamentary calendar under the lofty guise of wrapping up essential tasks for the public good, not a single sitting has actually occurred since.
Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday all evaporated in total silence. No one knows if the meetings were officially axed or if everyone just decided not to show up, leaving even the opposition politicians completely stranded in a information blackout.
Sacrificing public good for a political hit job
Now, the mask has slipped and the actual purpose of this so-called vital work is glaringly obvious. Despite the government's lofty cover story, the term was never extended to handle regular lawmaking.
Instead, exactly as the opposition callously predicted, the actual goal is to grease the wheels for a fast-tracked no-confidence vote to strip the Deputy Speaker of the Majlis and MP for Dhiggaru constituency Ahmed Nazim, of his title.
After leaving the main hall completely deserted for days, the General Purpose Committee suddenly found the energy to book a meeting. The entire agenda is laser-focused on pushing through the ouster of Deputy Speaker Nazim.
The committee is currently hammering out the fine print for the dismissal resolution, figuring out the headcount for who gets to talk, dictating the exact minutes allowed for every politician and deciding what opportunities the Deputy Speaker will get to speak up in his own defense.
While the paperwork for this solitary, petty target moves at lightning speed, the actual legislative work meant to protect and benefit ordinary citizens, which this massive parliamentary majority has full power to deliver, sits frozen in place.
The failure to pull together even a single sitting for important work after dragging out the calendar is undeniable proof that the entire legislative structure has been hijacked for a personal political vendetta to kick one man out of his seat.
This opening session of the year has made one reality undeniable: aside from the few opposition members left, the 20th Majlis is nothing but a room full of puppets waiting around to move to the rhythm of a single master.
