The parliament has approved the appointment of Ali Nashath as a member of the Elections Commission, sent for approval by President Abdulla Yameen.

The parliament approved Nashath’s appointment at a sitting held on Tuesday with a majority of 32 present members voting in favor of his appointment. Only parliamentarians representing ruling Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) had taken part in the vote.

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentarians have been boycotting parliament sitting for over a year now, calling for speaker Abdulla Maseeh’s impeachment after the parliament refused to place a vote of no-confidence against him in the agenda.

Nashath, native to Alif Alif atoll Feridhoo island, is the Director General of Information and Communication Technology at the Elections Commission.

The commission had a vacant seat for membership ever since the resignation of Mohamed Shakeel in early May.

Shakeel was appointed as State Minister at the Economic Ministry on the same day of his resignation. Since then, pictures of Shakeel’s participation in President Yameen’s campaign activities have been circulating on social media platforms.