Maldives government on Tuesday hit-back at questions raised over the vote taken on the no-confidence motion against speaker Abdulla Maseeh insisting that the vote was "free, fair, and transparent."
The government made the statement in response to the comments made by some opposition politicians in the Maldives and also following the statement issued about the vote by US government.
"We call on the Government to restore faith in democratic processes by ensuring free and impartial proceedings in Parliament, free and fair local elections, and basic freedoms of press, assembly, and speech," US embassy to Sri Lanka and Maldives had said in a brief press statement.
In response, Maldives foreign ministry expressed its unshakable commitment to uphold the rule of law and democratic principles, and to respect the democratic decisions taken by state institutions.
"The vote in the Parliament yesterday was conducted in the most transparent manner and through a democratic process underpinned by the rule of law and specifically in accordance with the Constitution of Maldives and the Rules of Procedure of the Parliament," the statement read.
The government also urged Maldives' international partners to respect the democratic decisions of state institutions, including the parliament.
"Government remains engaged with international partners in further promoting democratic values in the country and in strengthening the democratic institutions in the Maldives."
Before the historic vote, lawmakers voted in favour of taking an individual roll-call vote proposed by majority leader Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik.
Opposition lawmakers had protested the move but the motion was put to vote despite angry opposition lawmakers surrounding the deputy speaker in an attempt to block the vote.
The protests prompted the deputy speaker to delay the vote by nearly an hour. Attempts to resume the sitting was again blocked which resulted in the naming of as many as 13 opposition lawmakers. Some of the lawmakers had to be removed forcibly by soldiers entrusted with parliament security.
After removing the named lawmakers, when it was finally put to the roll-call vote, the remaining opposition MPs had walked out and the motion was defeated comfortably with 48 government lawmakers voting against the motion.
Opposition lawmakers had later refused to accept the result claiming that the government had influenced parliament proceedings to change the vote.
Opposition had also claimed that the electronic voting system had been rigged after it emerged that opposition aligned lawmaker Ahmed Mahloof who is in prison was recorded as having voted along with deputy speaker Moosa Manik.
