Parliament’s Committee Delays Cabinet Approval Due to Lack of Quorum

The chairperson of the Parliament’s Government Oversight Committee, West Maafannu MP Mohamed Falah, has announced a delay in the approval process for the new administration’s cabinet due to an insufficient quorum. 

The committee’s report, originally scheduled for last week’s Monday sitting, was returned by Speaker Mohamed Aslam, who cited incomplete mandates of the ministries.

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Since the report’s return, no committee meetings have been convened. MP Falah explained that a significant number of lawmakers were currently out of Male’ due to school holidays, making it impossible to achieve the required quorum for a committee meeting.

MP Falah emphasised the importance of having a sufficient number of members when deciding on a matter of such significance. He mentioned that the committee could only ask for a vote when there are six members present, which is currently not the case. He suggested that the approval process might only resume after the holidays.

During last week’s Monday sitting, Thulhaadhoo MP Hisan Hussain raised a point of order, noting the incomplete nature of the committee’s report on granting approval to the cabinet due to the absence of mandates. After discussions with the majority and minority leaders, Speaker Aslam decided to send the report back to the committee.

The Attorney General expressed concern about the separate approval processes for the cabinet and ministries’ mandates, emphasising that traditionally, the former was granted first.

In the midst of this, some lawmakers from the majority MDP have indicated their reluctance to grant approval to certain cabinet members. Despite the ongoing third session of the parliament being extended to Thursday, the approval of the cabinet remains pending.