Parliament:
Debates begin on bills submitted by former government

The Parliament has commenced debate on bills submitted by former President Nasheed’s administration, indicating that according to parliament regulations, bills accepted by parliament cannot be removed before completion of the legal procedures.

The first debate in today’s parliament session was on the bill on thalassaemia control, returned to parliament twice without ratification by former president Nasheed. Some members said that the current government can remove the bills submitted by the former government, and thus should not be debated on.

Medhu Henveiru MP Ali Azim said that as Mohamed Nasheed is no longer the President of Maldives as indicated on the bill, the bill can no longer be presented to Parliament.

Deputy Speaker of Parliament and Dhiggaru MP Ahmed Nazim, who chaired today’s session, said in response to Azim that according to parliament regulations, any bill accepted by the Parliament cannot be removed before the legal process is completed.

“The thalassaemia control bill was sent to be passed by the Parliament and ratified by the President within the timeframe mentioned in the constitution. The bill was returned to the Parliament by the President within this timeframe,” Nazim said.

The second debate in today’s session was on a bill submitted by Mahibadhoo MP Rugiyya Mohamed, regarding the revision of regulations pertaining to the protection and financial assistance for the disabled.