DRP decides to abstain no-confidence vote

Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (MDP) has decided to abstain from the vote of no confidence against Home Minister Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed and Defence Minister Colonel (Rtd) Mohamed Nazim scheduled for today.

Deputy Leader of DRP Dr. Abdualla Mausoom told Sun Online that DRP will be present at the voting session today, but said that the party has decided to abstain the vote.

Mausoom said that the decision was made after considering national interest, as the party does not want to plunge the country into disorder as consequence.

A no-confidence vote may pass with 39 votes in favour.

The motion was accepted by the parliament after 29 MPs from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group voted in favour of the motion.

The second strongest party in parliament, Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has said that the party’s position is clear and that they will vote against the no-confidence vote. PPM has also announced that the party’s MPs who vote against the whip will be penalized.

Progressive Party of Maldives currently has a total of 21 MPs in parliament.

MDP proposed the no-confidence motion against Defence Minister Nazim accusing him of amalgamating the separate prerogatives of two different government ministries, the Ministry of Defence and the Ministry of Transport, while holding the position of acting Minister for Transport, and for using military influence to disband government civil correspondences without the due processes of the courts.

The no-confidence motion against Jameel accuses him of failing to uphold peace in the streets of Male’.