Parliament on Monday passed a government proposed amendment to the parliament rules of procedure extinguishing all hopes opposition had of unseating the speaker.
Government had devised the move to quash the impending opposition led no confidence motions against parliament speaker Abdulla Maseeh and his deputy Moosa Manik.
The now opposition coalition had hours earlier filed a second motion unseat Maseeh in as many weeks ahead of the vote against Manik on Tuesday.
However, the government controlled parliamentary general committee in an impromptu sit-down had passed an amendment to the parliament rules of procedure raising the number of lawmaker signatures required to file a censure motion against the speaker and his deputy from 15 to 42.
The government controlled parliament had passed the amendment with 46 lawmakers voting in favour after the opposition MPs boycotted the vote.
The amendment designed to come into effect immediately has nullified the impending censure motions against the speaker and his deputy.
During a heated debate on the amendment earlier on Monday, government lawmakers had argued that the opposition must not be allowed to 'hijack' the parliament through no-confidence motions against the speaker.
Opposition lawmakers had alleged that the latest government move proved that the country was sliding into autocracy.
The country has plunged into fresh political strife after the main opposition leaders penned a historic treaty against the government.
United Nations (UN) and the European Union (EU) have become the latest to join the chorus of international scrutiny Maldives has been facing since the failed censure motion against Maseeh.
But the backlash from the failed attempt to unseat the speaker has led to several key opposition figures being questioned by police over various allegations while opposition Jumhoory Party (JP) leader Gasim Ibrahim was arrested on Thursday.
The business magnate had been taken into custody over recent allegations of bribing fellow lawmakers and making incitements to overthrow the government.
He has since been remanded for six days.
Most of the island nation's international partners have all echoed the call to find political common-ground among the ruling parties and the opposition.
