Parliament cancels Tue sitting, holds only 4 sittings in April
The first session of the year will conclude on 15 May.
The Parliament cancelled its scheduled sitting for Tuesday, resulting in a total of only four sessions held so far this month.
Speaker of Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla announced at the end of Wednesday’s sitting that the next sitting will be held on Monday. A sitting was also scheduled for Monday, but it was cancelled without explanation.
Under the Parliament's standing orders, sittings are held on Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays. This week’s sittings on both Monday and Tuesday were listed in the agenda but were not convened.
Efforts to reach the Parliament Secretariat for comment were unsuccessful.
One of the items scheduled for discussion on Monday was a motion to question Home Minister Ali Ihsan. The motion, submitted by Galolhu South MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), concerns allegations of falsified membership forms for the Progressive National Congress (PNC) inside the Department of National Registration (DNR). The motion was filed in January during the Parliament's recess and was added to this week’s agenda beyond the 14-day notice period stipulated in the rules.
Since the start of this year’s first parliamentary session in February, a total of 17 sittings have been held. The Parliament resumed on 7 April following a break during the last 10 days of Ramadan.
Recent sittings have included the decision to move forward with the Israeli passport ban bill, which had been under committee review for over a year, and the approval of ambassadorial appointments to foreign countries. Committees have also continued work on bills submitted in the previous year.
In the two months since February, the government has submitted only one new bill to the Parliament. Opposition-sponsored proposals have reportedly been set aside, with MDP members voicing concerns about the current level of parliamentary activity.
The first session of the year will conclude on 15 May. Following a scheduled recess, the second session is expected to begin in June.
