Parliament members from main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) are gathering signatures to submit a no confidence motion against Economic Minister, Fayyaz Ismail.
According to an MDP source who wishes to remain anonymous, the efforts are led by Parliament Speaker and former president of Maldives, Mohamed Nasheed, and two close aides.
Minister Fayyaz Ibrahim is the younger brother of MDP’s first president, Ibrahim ‘Ibra’ Ismail. Himself a member of MDP, he was appointed to the cabinet on an MDP slot. Minister Fayyaz is a trusted aide of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Atleast ten signatures are needed to file a no confidence motion against a cabinet minister. The source said the required number of signatures has already been collected, including that of Speaker Nasheed. Nearly 20 signatures have been collected until now, said the member.
MDP holds supermajority of the 19th Parliament. While 65 out of its 87 members are from MDP, this is the first time a no confidence motion is being pursued against an MDP minister during the current Parliament.
The source said the motion will be submitted at the parliament but will fail to be approved.
“The motion will not be passed. The purpose of the motion is to make things difficult for President Solih,” said the source.
