Issues surrounding election cannot be solved through the parliament: Yameen

Progressive Party of Maldives’ (PPM) parliamentary group leader, the party’s presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen has said that the issues surrounding the September 7th presidential election cannot be solved through the parliament.

Speaking to the press during his current campaign trip to Fuvahmulah, Yameen said that PPM is not concerned about reconvening the parliament ahead of schedule.

“We are not worried about holding a parliament session. But we want to say that the issues that have come up with the election cannot be solved through the parliament.”

“The election related issues can be solved by investigating the injustices and having them undergo the legal processes. The Supreme Court will decide on the matter, yes? The parliament cannot make a decision,” Yameen said.

He said PPM MPs will also attend if the parliament decides to hold an extraordinary sitting, but said that it is “unlikely” for the parliament to start holding regular three sittings per week, ahead of the commencement of the regular session in October.

Stating that the country has started to veer-off of the course of democratic principles since the first round of the presidential election, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) parliamentary group leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has sent a letter to Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid, proposing to reconvene the parliament ahead of scheduled.

Article 33 (d) of the Parliament Regulation requires one-third of the parliament, or 26 MPs to propose with signatures, to the speaker of the parliament to hold a sitting during recess. If the circumstance arises, the speaker of the parliament must comply and hold a sitting within 14 days including public holidays.