Gafoor removal vote set for Monday

The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) will hold a National Assembly meeting on Monday to decide on the removal of Abdul Gafoor Moosa from the post of interim chairman.

A motion calling for the session was submitted on Thursday evening. It seeks a vote on Gafoor’s removal. The petition was signed by 55 of the 123 members of the National Assembly.

The MDP Secretariat informed members that the meeting will take place on Monday. The time and venue are to be announced.

The party’s national executive committee met earlier on Thursday before the notice was issued. A press conference scheduled after the meeting was later cancelled.

The move to remove Gafoor is backed by a faction aligned with former President Mohamed Nasheed and former MDP chairman Fayyaz Ismail.

The case follows disputes within the party. These include the exclusion of an issue related to a speech by Nasheed at a rally held after the MDP’s council election result.

It also follows the removal of Ahmed Mauroof from the post of Legal Director and Ibrahim Waheed (Ibreu) from the post of Deputy Chairman. No reason was given for these dismissals.

Signatories to the petition include members currently in parliament, former Defence Minister Maria Ahmed Didi, former Finance Minister Ibrahim Aamir, and Rozaina Adam and Mohamed Nashiz, who were previously associated with the faction of former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.