Finance minister boycotts budget submission over Nasheed confidence vote delay
Parliament could not proceed with the no-confidence motion against Nasheed in Sunday's and Monday's sittings as deputy speaker was on sick leave.
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Finance minister Ibrahim Ameer has boycotted Tuesday's parliament sitting which is set to be held to present the state budget for 2024, over the parliament's decision to delay the no-confidence motion against speaker Mohamed Nasheed.
The agenda for the next two days of parliamentary sittings has been posted on the parliament's website. According to the agenda:
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Submission of the supplementary budget for 2023 and the 2024 state budget will take place in Tuesday's sitting
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The no-confidence motion against speaker Nasheed will be held in Wednesday's sitting
Presidential spokesperson Miuvan Mohamed told Atoll Times that Ameer decided not to attend the sitting to present the supplementary budget and estimated budget for next year after receiving legal advice from the Attorney General that no other business of parliament could proceed without tabling the no-confidence motion against Nasheed.
Parliament could not proceed with the no-confidence motion against speaker Mohamed Nasheed in Sunday's and Monday's sittings as deputy speaker Eva Abdulla was on sick leave.
According to the rules of procedure of the parliament, the deputy speaker is required to preside over the no-confidence motion against the speaker.
According to the rules of procedure of the parliament, the finance minister must submit the budget for the coming year before November 1 of the current year.
Meanwhile, Supreme Court on Monday accepted a constitutional petition filed by MDP seeking an order that no other sitting of the parliament can be held without a decision on the no-confidence motion against speaker Mohamed Nasheed.
According to MDP, the case was filed for two main reasons:
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To provide that the parliament secretariat shall be obliged to comply with Article 44 of the rules of procedure of the parliament in the event of the deputy speaker's absence from a sitting where the motion of no-confidence in the speaker is tabled
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To order that no other sitting of parliament can be conducted until a decision is taken on Nasheed's case
Article 44 of the rules of procedure of the parliament sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of the speaker and deputy speaker being excused from presiding over the session. Accordingly, the article states:
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In such a case, the speaker shall appoint a member to preside in accordance with Article 82(b) of the constitution
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A total of five members of the parliament who have served the longest continuous period of time shall be so appointed; One of the members shall preside for three consecutive sessions
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The five members are to be appointed within the first two weeks after the election of the speaker and deputy speaker to the post; the names should be announced in parliament
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In determining the order of those five members to hold the presidency, priority shall be based on tenure of membership; if the term of membership is equal, then the age of the members shall be considered
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In the event that no member is appointed in advance to preside or if the five members are unable to preside, the next longest serving member shall preside at the meeting
