Parliament session halted over budget disapproval

Today’s parliament session has been halted for discussions amongst party leaders as tensions began to increase after Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) MPs voiced disapproval over the assembly of 2014 state budget.

Majority leader and MDP parliamentary group leader MP Ibrahim Mohamed Solih suggested that the session be paused until noon for discussions.

During the state budget debate that began at 11:00 a.m. and continued amongst incessant calls for points of order, budget committee member and MDP MP Ahmed Hamza accused the committee of having violated procedure in its review of the 2014 budget. He said the opposition had not been allowed to make suggestions and that the chair was unrelenting in his decisions.

However, Nolhuvaram MP and current leader of Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) Mohamed Nasheed (Kaanal) refuted MDP’s accusations in a bid to defended the budget review committee. He said the committee was conducted according to procedure.

Parliament is scheduled to vote on 2014 state budget on Sunday, 29 December.