A case has been filed at the Supreme Court seeking to remove Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed from the Parliament.
President Nasheed is attending the COP Summit in Egypt as a member of the national delegation of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. President Nasheed left for the COP summit on the 4th of this month.
The constitutional case filed by lawyer Ahmed Tholib said the Speaker's representation of Sri Lanka at the COP-27 summit was contrary to the responsibilities and duties of a member of parliament as enshrined in the Constitution. He cited Article 75 of the Constitution which sets out the matters to be taken into consideration in the work of members.
According to the article, MPs should act in the national interest and the welfare of the people. The Constitution also states that no member shall use his position to promote the personal interest of himself or any other person with whom he has a special relationship. It was noted that the Constitution defines anything done in violation of the Constitution as null and void.
The Supreme Court has yet to decide whether to hear the case.
Meanwhile, former Chairman of the main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), MP Hassan Latheef has alleged that the government is behind the move to remove the Speaker from the Parliament. Hassan Latheef said the government's first attempt to remove Nasheed from the parliament failed as the government did not get the required number of votes to impeach him.
'[So], they are now attempting to remove him through the courts,' Latheef said.
He added that although the government was behind the move, there was no legal basis for the case. However, he did not share his reasons for the statement.
