Opposition begins gathering signatures to oust parliament speaker
Opposition expects to receive signatures from MDA members
Opposition MPs filing an impeachment motion against the speaker in 2017
The opposition coalition has begun gathering signatures needed to file a no-confidence motion against parliament speaker Abdulla Maseeh.
This has been confirmed by Rozaina Adam, the deputy leader of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s parliamentary group.
Rozaina said that opposition lawmakers have been giving signatures against speaker Maseeh and they expect to receive signatures from members of Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), which has recently left the government coalition.
While 42 signatures are needed to file a no-confidence motion, the opposition coalition consists of 35 lawmakers while MDA has 5.
This would be the fourth impeachment motion against the pro-government speaker.
The last no-confidence motion in July 2017 was proposed with signatures of 45 MPs, which include lawmakers from the ruling party, but was rejected after the Elections Commission declared that 12 of the signatories have been removed from parliament.
However, the Supreme Court has recently ruled to re-seat four of the 12 MPs, and the opposition coalition has stated that it has full confidence that the rest of the lawmakers will be re-seated as well.
