Deputy speaker election delayed to Monday as PNC yet to finalise candidate

The parliamentary sitting scheduled for Sunday afternoon to elect a new Deputy Speaker of the People’s Majlis has been postponed until Monday, as the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) has yet to decide on a candidate for the position.

The post became vacant on Sunday morning after Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim resigned as Deputy Speaker shortly before Parliament was due to consider a motion seeking his removal from office.

The motion had been submitted by the PNC parliamentary group, which holds a majority in Parliament.

A sitting to consider Nazim’s removal was scheduled for 9:00 a.m. on Sunday. However, Nazim announced his resignation shortly before the session began, denying all allegations made against him. As a result, the sitting concluded without further proceedings.

While closing the session, Speaker of Parliament Abdul Raheem Abdulla announced that another sitting would be held at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday to elect a new Deputy Speaker.

However, the Parliament Secretariat later informed members that the sitting had been postponed.

According to a notice issued by the Secretariat, the next parliamentary sitting will now take place at 9:00 a.m. on Monday. Parliament is expected to elect a new Deputy Speaker during that session.

A member of the PNC parliamentary group told local media that the party leadership had not yet reached a decision on a nominee for the post.

“The leadership has not yet decided on who to bring in as Deputy Speaker,” the member said.

Several members of the ruling party have been identified as possible candidates for the position. They include:

The Deputy Speaker’s position became vacant following Nazim’s resignation after serving in the role during the current parliamentary term.