Thimarafushi MP Abdulla Riyaz will be representing newly formed Maldives National Party (MNP) at the Parliament as the party's Parliamentary Group leader.
Speaking at Wednesday's parliament sitting, Speaker Mohamed Nasheed acknowledged that MNP has been officially registered at the Elections Commission, and said while three members from the party sit on the Parliament, the three members have been included in the Parliament's registry as representatives of the party.
In addition to Riyaz, Dhangethi MP Mohamed Nazim and Villimale' MP Ahmed Usham are MNP members. All three members are co-founders of the party.
MNP said the party has designated Riyaz as the Parliamentary Group leader while MP Usham will be his deputy.
The number of parliament members who represent MNP is now equal to that of the ruling coalition partner, Jumhooree Party. While the opposing PPM / PNC coalition has nine members in the parliament, Maldives Democratic Alliance has two members. The main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party holds super majority with 65 members. A further five members sit on the Parliament as independent members.
Nasheed said while the party has been accepted by the Parliament, the subsequent changes to the Parliament committees will soon be presented to the government.
