The ruling Progressive Party of Maldives’ pursuit of amendments to the parliament procedure is a ‘panic measure’ to ensure his ‘grip on the legislature’, the allied members of the opposition has said.

In a statement on the Maldivian Democratic Party’s website on Monday, the parties called Sunday’s amendments to procedure – which lifted the minimum number of signatures required for a no-confidence motion against the speaker from 15 to 42 – both ‘arbitrary and unlawful’.

The statement notes the cross-party motion against Abdulla Maseeh, submitted with 31 votes, and called the amendment a move to ‘derail’ the vote.

“President’s Yameen’s actions are a contemptible attempt to further erode the separation of powers by undermining the independence and effectiveness of the legislature - with these underhand tactics, President Yameen has shown, once again, that he is prepared to subvert the institutions of state to maintain his increasingly fragile and illegitimate hold on power” the statement continues.

This is the second motion against Maseeh. The first failed after proceeding ended with opposition MPs abstaining to vote following a controversial decision to resort to a roll call method of voting, without substantiating the status of the electronic voting system.

The government assured the international community, who raised concer over the validity of the vote due to its ‘clear violation of parliamentary procedure’ – as described in their statements, that the vote was ‘free, fair, and transparent’.

The joint statement on Monday also took note of the government’s ‘harassment and intimidation of opposition lawmakers and crackdown on peaceful political activity’.

This sentiment is shared by the United Nations, European Union, as well as the governments of Germany, United States, United Kingdom, Norway, Switzerland, and Canada.

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