Votes against freedom will not be forgiven: AP leader

Sheikh Imran Abdulla, opposition Adhaalath Party (AP) leader has said, ahead of the no-confidence vote against parliament speaker, that the people would not forgive parliamentarians ‘who vote against freedom’.

Shidhatha Shareef, a member of the party’s council, had conveyed the message on behalf of AP’s jailed leader. Sheikh Abdulla’s message further says that the nation is currently facing an ‘immense internal threat’, unlike anything citizens have seen before.

“Who now is not writhing in pain and poverty? Who is not seeped in rage and dismay? We just cannot leave this nation to the next generations in this state” the Sheikh said.

He urged parliamentarians to support the motion to remove Abdulla Maseeh, who is accused of barring MPs from holding the government accountable and presiding over the passing of laws that are potentially detrimental, from his position has parliament speaker.

The motion of no-confidence, filed on 8th March, will enter parliament on Monday.

The six-point motion further accuses Maseeh of ‘refusing to ensure’ equality in parliament, disregarding the rule of law, disrespecting the system of checks and balances, disregard for procedure, and ‘subverting’ democracy.

The sheikh was accused and convicted of terrorism, for having been one of the leaders in a large opposition rally on the 1st of May, 2015. His words had incited violence, prosecutors said.