AG opinion sought on Nasheed's confidence motion
The motion passed, but Nasheed's Democrats' Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb spoke against the motion.
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By
Mariyam Umna Ismail
The General Committee of the Parliament has decided to seek the advice of Attorney General (AG) Ibrahim Riffath on the next course of action as they were not able to proceed with the no-confidence motion filed against Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, even on Sunday.
With the Supreme Court's ruling on Thursday, the agenda of Sunday's session was to table a resolution signed by 49 MDP MPs to remove Nasheed from office.
The Supreme Court ruled that the impeachment resolution can proceed in the absence Deputy Speaker of Parliament. Therefore, Sunday's session was presided over by The Democrats’ member Hassan Afeef.
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Afeef, who represents The Democrats to whom Nasheed also belongs, ruled that the MDP had filed the resolution illegally, as was raised by the party's parliamentary group. He also ordered the resolution to be resubmitted
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A further session on the resolution was scheduled for 11:30 am Sunday. Deputy Speaker Eva, who presided over the meeting, decided that a decision had been taken on the resolution held this morning and therefore it could not be continued
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The chair had acted against the advice of the Parliamentary Office, the administration said
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The Privileges and Ethics Committee of Parliament on Sunday ruled that Eva and Afeef had violated the privileges of the Majlis members
The General Committee meeting held on Sunday decided to seek the advice of the AG on a motion moved by Alifushi MP Mohammed Rasheed. The motion was passed by a majority of seven members present at the committee meeting.
The reason for seeking the AG's advice, Rasheed said was that the he wants the Attorney General's advice on the no-confidence motion forwarded to the Secretary General of the parliament, so as to facilitate making a decision.
“… The committee seeks an advice from the Attorney General on how the no-confidence motion against the Speaker may be proceeded within its mandate to facilitate the Secretary-General in proceeding with this matter,” he said.
"I submitted the recommendation with the intention of providing the Secretary-General with the information she will receive on how to proceed”.
The motion passed, but Nasheed's Democrats' Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb spoke against the motion. He said:
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The committee does not have the power to interfere in the affairs of the parliament, he said. What the committee can do is to submit to the parliament if there is a deficiency in the rules, he said
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Responding to Ilyas, Mohammed Rasheed said it was the mandate of the committee to advise the parliament’s Secretary General, and that he had sought the advise of the Attorney General for that purpose
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Ilyas objected; he said the Secretary General could only be advised on matters related to the administration of the institution and that she does not have the power to run the parliament.
Despite Ilyas's objection, some MDP members in the committee also pointed out that it was the mandate of the general committee to formulate policies and show the directions to be taken in relation to the way the Secretary General, Counsel General, Sergeant-at-arms and other senior staff were conducting the work and how they were being implemented.
