Ruling party chief blames ex-pres Solih for cabinet rejection

Ruling People’s National Congress (PNC)’s Chairman Abdul Raheem Abdulla on Sunday accused former President Ibrahim Mohammed Solih of being behind the opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP)’s efforts to deny approval to some members of President Mohammed Muizzu's first cabinet.

The vote on ministerial approval was scheduled to be taken at 1:30 pm on Sunday, but the ruling party had blocked the sitting in protest after the the main opposition parties MDP and the Democrats decided not to approve some members of the cabinet. Thus:

Several senior members of the ruling coalition are also active outside the parliament building. They include PNC Chairman Abdul Raheem Abdullah and President's Office Minister Ali Arif.

Speaking to the media outside, near the parliament, Abdul Raheem said the opposition's efforts to reject several ministers were very "pointless and irresponsible".

"There is nothing more pointless and disorderly than this. There is definitely Ibrahim Mohammed Solih behind this," he alleged.

"Even if Ibrahim Mohammed Solih is orchestrating it, they cant keep this up. Three or four months later, the new parliament is coming. Hopefully, the government will take the supermajority of the next parliament”.

With the change of parliament, “they [opposition members] will be of no use” and there will be no way to prevent the approval of ministers, he added.

The MDP parliamentary group’s meeting earlier Sunday decided not to approve the following ministers.

The Democrats, who joined forces with MDP last week, has also decided not to approve four ministers. The party decided not to approve these four ministers: