Malé City Council session adjourned after PNC members leave

The Malé City Council session scheduled for Wednesday was adjourned after members of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) left the meeting when discussion began on a land allocation list released by the council.

The council requires a quorum of 10 members to proceed. Wednesday’s session began with the required number present and members remained until the first three items on the agenda were completed. The quorum was lost when three PNC councillors left the chamber, forcing the session to be halted.

The fourth item on the agenda concerned how to address any agreements related to plots included in the land list published by the Malé City Council on the 20th of last month.

PNC-affiliated councillors hold a majority on the council. As a result, quorum has not been met on days when land-related matters are scheduled for discussion. The council has now failed to sit for two consecutive days due to the lack of quorum.

With quorum not restored, the chair decided to adjourn Wednesday’s session without proceeding further.

PNC councillors had also boycotted previous council sittings convened to investigate issues related to the fish market.

The complaint that led to the earlier discussions was submitted by Villimalé constituency councillor Nahla Ali, who said that six of the nine projects in Villimalé had been omitted from the land list released last month.