Committee Investigates Nasheed for Alleged Infringement of Parliament’s Privileges

The Parliament’s Privileges and Ethics Committee is set to examine an allegation against former Speaker Mohamed Nasheed, accusing him of infringing on the Parliament’s privileges. 

Earlier in the year, MDP had submitted no-confidence motions against both Nasheed and Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla, also a member of the Democrats. 

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The motion against Eva garnered the endorsement of 50 MPs in May, while the motion against Nasheed followed in June, with the backing of 54 MPs.

However, both Nasheed and Eva recused themselves from chairing sittings, citing the motions, resulting in a prolonged deadlock. MDP accused Nasheed of intentionally impeding the functioning of the Parliament and infringing on its privileges.

Speaker Mohamed Aslam, who took over from Nasheed after his resignation in November, mentioned that parliamentarians had not expressed any opinions on the allegation.

The MDP submitted a second no-confidence motion against Nasheed with the endorsement of 49 MPs on October 9. Initially scheduled for October 26, the motion faced delays when Eva reported being unwell throughout that week. 

The Parliament’s Secretariat had ruled that only the Deputy Speaker could chair sittings in the event of a no-confidence motion against the Speaker. In response, MDP filed a constitutional case with the Supreme Court, which, on November 9, deemed the Secretariat’s decision unconstitutional.

Subsequently, Nasheed resigned on November 13, following the Supreme Court’s ruling.