PG leader denies attempts to unseat Speaker Nasheed

MDP’s parliamentary group leader Mohamed Aslam said on Monday that he does not want to remove ruling MDP president Mohamed Nasheed from the post of speaker of parliament and has not even attempted it.

In the middle of last year, after Nasheed accused President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of criminal offences, some MDP lawmakers began the process of obtaining signatures to remove Nasheed from office, accusing him of violating the rules of the parliament. However, it was stalled at president Solih's request.

After it was halted, Aslam told a media outlet on Wednesday that the number required to remove Nasheed had been met. It was believed that the process of removing Nasheed from his post had begun once again. In particular, members of MDP’s Nasheed faction made the suggestion.

When asked about it, Aslam told Atoll Times on Monday that no attempt has been made to remove Nasheed from his post. The work, which started last year, is still stalled, he said.

"That's because we don't want to do it [removing Nasheed as speaker]," Aslam said.

While some believe that efforts have begun to remove Nasheed, Aslam assured that nothing of that sort is being done at the moment.

"In an interview where a lot of things were said, a newspaper asked me about the case. I said the signatures were attained. It is not the beginning of the process again under any circumstances," said Aslam, who has worked closely with Nasheed in the past.

On Saturday, MDP’s former PG leader and MP from Central Henveiru constituency, Ali Azim, who belongs to the Nasheed faction, had threatened to start the process of removing President Solih if Nasheed was to be removed from the post of speaker of the parliament.