Parliament sitting concludes in under three minutes

Monday’s parliament sitting concluded in under five minutes, with only two matters on the agenda.

The two items on the agenda were the appraisal of two nominations sent in by President Abdulla Yameen, to the National Integrity Commission (NIC) and as the new Ambassador of Maldives to Japan.

The President has nominated former President of the Elections Commission Ahmed Sulaiman to NIC, and Ibrahim Uwais as the Ambassador to Japan. Both names have been sent to the respective committees; Sulaiman’s case to the Committee on Independent Institutions and Uwais’ to the Committee on National Security.

A position in the National Integrity Commission became vacant after the dismissal of its President Yoosuf Maaniu last November. Maaniu fired less than a week after he accused senior officials of the Maldives Police Service (MPS) of obstructing an on ongoing investigation into the conduct of law enforcement officers.

The first parliament sitting of the year was held on 21st February, after canceling the one scheduled for 5th February, citing security issues. According to laws, the first parliament sitting of the year has to be held on the first Monday or Thursday of February.

While a sitting has been held for Monday, the fate of the 12 opposition parliamentarians, whom the Elections Commission has unseated, remain unclear. In a ruling issued on the 1st of February, the Supreme Court had ordered to reinstate the 12. However, a ruling issued later, following the arrest of Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed and Justice Ali Saeed, temporarily suspends the implementation of the first ruling.

An extraordinary session of the Parliament was held on the 19th and 20th February, where the government proposed to extend the state of emergency by 30 days, which was approved by the parliament with 38 votes. Opposition parliamentarians had boycotted the session. The vote was passed without the constitutionally required quorum of 43 members