Two government affiliated lawmakers on Wednesday have refused to vote on the new electoral framework state has been attempting to rubber-stamp amid the growing tension related to 2018 presidential elections.
Progressive Party of Maldives' (PPM) deputy parliamentary group leader and Vilufushi MP Riyaz Rasheed and MDA's deputy parliamentary group leader and Kudahuvadhoo MP Ahmed Amir refused to vote on the amendment on elections regulations.
For the last two days, the parliament had been unable to rubber-stamp an amendment to the country's law on presidential elections largely designed to bar several political leaders currently in exile from contesting for the presidency due to a lack of quorum.
Speaker Abdulla Maseeh said as only 28 lawmakers were present during Monday's sitting, the amendment proposed by Nihan cannot be put to a vote. He had also urged all lawmakers to attend parliament especially during a vote.
However, the speaker again on Tuesday was forced to call of the vote due to a lack of quorum to pass what he described was key amendments to the country's electoral framework ahead of the presidential elections.
The parliament has been struggling to meet the required quorum to pass key laws amid the ongoing parliament boycott by opposition lawmakers.
According to Article 87 (b) of the constitution, a parliament vote on any matter requiring compliance by citizens shall only be undertaken when more than half of the total membership of the parliament are present at the sitting at which the matter is voted upon.
This means that the ruling coalition needs a minimum 43 lawmakers in a sitting to pass the law as specified by the constitution. However, the ruling coalition no longer has the required number after losing as many as a dozen MPs to the opposition who have since been disqualified under contentious circumstances.
But the parliament has for the third time tabled the vote on its agenda for Wednesday and the Villi-Maafannu lawmaker told AVAS that the amendments would be put to a vote.
The outspoken lawmaker pointed out that despite repeated requests by the parliament secretariat, the opposition MPs had refused to attend sittings.
"They don't come to the sittings. But they attend parliamentary committees and hang around in the canteen," Nihan retorted.
He also insisted that the parliament does not need 43 lawmakers to pass the amendments as the opposition has refused to attend sittings referring to the recent Supreme Court ruling which backed another contentious vote passed by the parliament without the required quorum.
The parliament had needed the Supreme Court to step in and back recent votes taken by the parliament to disqualify the rebel lawmakers and extending the state of emergency in February without the required quorum.
The Vilimale lawmaker's original amendment to the electoral framework stated that a Maldivian citizen with dual citizenship would only be eligible to contest for the presidency if 10 years have lapsed since the foreign citizenship had been renounced.
But following the outspoken lawmaker's suggestion to impose the same restriction on Maldivians who had been granted asylum abroad, the parliamentary independent bodies committee had made the revision.
The revised amendment now says that a Maldivian citizen with dual citizenship or has been granted asylum in a foreign country would only be eligible to contest for the presidency if 10 years have lapsed since the foreign citizenship or asylum had been renounced.
Nihan had argued that the amendment was necessary to prevent foreign influence and interference in the country's internal affairs.
Nihan had insisted that such people who have been living abroad for years should not be allowed to suddenly return and lead the country and its people.
Nihan was indirectly referring to the several political leaders who have been forced into exile.
