Censure motion against Parliament Speaker was withdrawn in the interest of peace: Yameen

President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has said that the no-confidence motion against Speaker of Parliament Abdulla Shahid was recalled from the parliament in the interest of peace, to avoid conflict.

Speaking at a rally of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) on Thursday night, President Yameen said that earlier, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) withdrew a no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker of Parliament Ahmed Nazim, thus, PPM decided to follow their example in the interest of peace.

“We extended our hand for peace. As we had hoped, MDP accepted and shook our hand in peace,” he said.

President Yameen said that now, everyone should work together to ensure peace and order in the country, and put the interests of the nation before the interests of the president or parliamentarians.

“We have to know how to cooperate with people with whom we do not share political views. We should have enough courage and competence to do that,” he said.

Yameen said that the PPM coalition will promote solidarity in order to ensure progress for the nation.

“We want to show the world that the Maldives is one family. We want peace. Without peace, we can’t bring about development for the country. We can’t always be enemies, always fighting with each other. At some point, we have to find peace,” he said.