PNC silent amid speculation party’s MPs voted for MDP’s Fitte

The People’s National Congress (PNC) continues to maintain silence in face of speculations that some of the ruling party’s parliamentarians crossed party lines to vote for Vaikaradhoo MP Hussain Ziyad (Fitte), the candidate from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), instead of the party’s own candidate in the recent deputy speakership vote at the Parliament.

The seat of Deputy Speaker got vacated after Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim, once seen as one of the most influential figures within the PNC, resigned from the role on Sunday, less than half an hour ahead of a sitting on a no-confidence vote pushed against him by his own party.

The Parliament held a vote to elect his replacement on Monday.

It came as no surprise when PNC’s candidate, Eydhafushi MP Ahmed Saleem (Redwave Saleem), won the election, given the party’s supermajority in the Parliament.

But questions soon arose regarding whether some PNC members voted for Fitte in the secret ballot.

Total 74 parliamentarians took place in the vote. 62 voted for Saleem, and 10 voted for Fitte. Meanwhile, two parliamentarians abstained.

Monday’s sitting was attended by eight out of the 12 members who represent the MDP at the Parliament, along with two independents. With parliamentarians from Jumhoory Party (JP), Maldives National Party (MNP) and Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) absent, the rest were made up of PNC members.

Assuming that all eight MDP members voted for Fitte, this means that he also got votes from two non-MDP members, and that two more chose to abstain rather than voting for Saleem.

However, the PNC continues to maintain silence amid speculations, neither confirming nor denying the rumors.

Both Ibrahim Falah, the leader of PNC’s parliamentary group, and Ibrahim Shujau, the senior deputy leader of the group, have been unresponsive to repeated phone calls and text messages seeking a comment.

But some PNC parliamentarians who spoke to Sun on condition of anonymity are sure that some of the party’s members voted for Fitte, given that the only members to join the vote were from the PNC and the MDP or the two independents, one of whom has consistently sided with the PNC in previous votes.

However, the identities of the parliamentarians who defected from the party line remains unclear as it was a secret ballot.

The incident comes amid rumors of a rift within the PNC’s parliamentary group – rumors that grew louder following the no-confidence motion against Nazim.

The motion against Nazim, endorsed by 73 lawmakers from his party, was filed with the Parliament on May 14. It accused Nazim of repeatedly abusing his office to create strife and disharmony within the Parliament, but did not mention any specifics.

Nazim described the allegations against him as baseless, but said that he had decided to resign as the motion was endorsed by all members of the ruling party’s parliamentary group – which had elected him  to the role in the first place.

While the exact reason why PNC turned against Nazim is unclear, former President Mohamed Nasheed recently the party filed the no-confidence motion because he and 23 other parliamentarians from the party planned to cross party lines and submit an impeachment motion against President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

However, this claim is denied by the ruling party.

Senior figures within the PNC have also recently publicly reiterated their support for President Muizzu, stating that neither the parliamentary group nor the party’s senate will make any decision that goes against his will.