Speaker absent from PNC’s first parliamentary meeting

The Progressive National Congress (PNC) Parliamentary Group held a meeting Wednesday, marking the first time Speaker of Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla was absent from such a gathering.

Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau took to X (formerly Twitter) to share that he had conducted a warm-up meeting for the parliamentary group ahead of President Mohamed Muizzu’s upcoming presidential address. However, Speaker Abdul Raheem was absent from the meeting.

 Abdul Raheem remains in Malé, but this is the first time he has skipped a parliamentary group meeting. The meeting was instead chaired by Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim. Despite his absence, the parliament Confirmed that Abdul Raheem would still preside over Thursday's parliamentary sitting.

The absence of Abdul Raheem from the meeting comes amid a deteriorating relationship between him and President Muizzu. Tensions between the two escalated following the dismissal of Abdul Raheem’s son, Ibrahim Faisal, from his position as Tourism Minister last week.

Sources close to the matter indicate that Abdul Raheem was deeply dissatisfied with the decision. Speaking to Atoll Times, he suggested that if his relationship with the president were still intact, Muizzu would not have taken such a step.