The Parliament has passed amendments to the provisions of the Parliament Rules outlining the removal process for the President and Vice-President.
The amendment, as follows, was moved by Minority Leader Ali Azim of The Democrats:
- Notice of impeachment must be sent to Parliament within two days of receiving the resolution for removal of the President and Vice-President.
- A sitting to address the matter should occur 14 days after the notice is submitted.
- The debate on the resolution is limited to three hours.
- The President and Vice-President are granted 30 minutes for their response.
- If either party wishes to respond with counsel, a maximum of three counsel members may participate.
- If a majority of members present decide to take up the matter, a seven-member committee will be formed to study and deliberate on the issue.
The amendments to Rules 202 and 203 of the Parliament Rules received approval from 44 members, while 10 members voted against, and one member abstained.
Meanwhile, the Parliament passed an amendment to Rule 49 of the Parliament Rukes today, officially declaring the total number of members in the current 19th Parliament as 80. With this amendment, the opposing Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) now can unilaterally remove the President and Vice-President from power.
