Committee approves counter-petition submission to amend standing orders

The Parliament’s General Purpose Committee, on Monday approved an amendment to its Standing Orders to allow the submission of counter-petitions against petitions previously submitted to Parliament.

Under the current Standing Orders of the Parliament, a petition is considered valid only if it does not propose an action that has already been requested in a previously submitted petition.

Ruling PNC’s Funadhoo MP Mohamed Mamdooh Yoonus proposed removing this restrictive provision to allow petitions opposing the objectives of previously submitted petitions to be formally lodged with Parliament.

Following the referral of the amendment to the General Purpose Committee, Holhudhoo MP Abdul Sattar Mohamed proposed rearranging the sub-clauses within the relevant article. The motion was seconded by Isdhoo MP Mohamed Shafeeu.  The proposal was subsequently approved with the support of seven of the eight members who participated in the vote, while one member voted against it.

Although nine members were present at the committee meeting, none expressed opposition to the amendment during the deliberations.

The amendment comes as the Petition Committee has already decided to table for floor debate a petition calling for the withdrawal of a bill that would grant the government authority to repossess land currently under the jurisdiction of local councils.

Meanwhile, supporters of the ruling PNC have submitted a separate petition to Parliament in support of the bill. The pro-government petition, submitted in response to a bill introduced by independent Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Aboobakr, argues that the proposed legislation is necessary to facilitate the expeditious delivery of basic services at the local level.

The petition submitted by PNC supporters further characterizes the initial petition opposing Abdul Hannan’s bill as one filed solely to pursue specific political objectives.