Former President and newly elected MP for Macchangolhi Central constituency, Mohamed Nasheed has downplayed interest in Parliament Speaker position.
In an interview given to local channel RaajjeTV, Nasheed said he has no interest in being the Speaker of the parliament, and stated that there are qualified members for the position among the newly elected MDP lawmakers, mentioning by name the new MP for Hithadhoo Uthuru, Mohamed Aslam as one such person.
Although he is not interested in the position himself, Nasheed said the position of Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the parliament should be held by lawmakers representing MDP.
Speaking on the few seats that were attained by the opposition in Saturday's parliamentary election, Nasheed said MDP has worked as a minority in the past, but had put in their maximum effort while functioning as the opposition. It is the foremost duty of the opposition to hold the government accountable, and a competitive opposition is imperative, said Nasheed.
Nasheed said Saturday's election had made clear what the hopes of the people are, and noted that this is the first time a single party has been able attain Parliament majority since the new constitution was ratified. He went on to say Ageda19, the visionary legal framework compiled by MDP on which their parliament campaign was based on, is they key to fulfilling the wishes of the people.
The newly elected lawmaker further said the parliament should stop the practice of summoning heads of independent entities only when an issue arises, and instead should make it common-practice to summon the heads of these institutions periodically to monitor the work being done by them. The new 19th parliament will showcase these differences, promised Nasheed.
