The Parliament session for Monday was adjourned prematurely.
The main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is pursuing no-confidence motions against Parliament Speaker Mohamed Nasheed and Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla.
At the beginning of Monday's session, the Secretary General of the Parliament, Fathimath Niusha, informed the floor that Nasheed and Eva had informed, as per the Rules of Procedure, that they would recuse themselves from presiding over parliamentary sittings until decisions were made regarding the no-confidence motions against them. Therefore, under Rule 44(b) of the Rules of Procedure, Vilifushi MP Hassan Afeef was appointed to preside over the session.
However, the session was cut short when pro-government MPs expressed dissatisfaction over Hassan Afeef presiding over the session. They also voiced their displeasure that the no-confidence motion against Eva Abdulla was not included in the session's agenda. While the 14-day notice period issued to Eva to respond to the motion has expired, the MPs claim no other work can be done in the Parliament without first addressing the motion.
Amidst the commotion, the session was temporarily adjourned. When it resumed, Madduvvari MP Adam Shareef initiated an emergency motion. However, some pro-government MPs continued to raise their voices near Shareef's seat. Eventually, the session's Chair adjourned the meeting as it became impossible to continue the session under the circumstances.
