Majlis finally come to an agreement on the composition of standing committees

The People’s Majlis has finally come to an agreement about the composition of Majlis Standing Committees, after a prolonged and heated run of debate for more than a month. A solution was reached after deliberation among the leaders of parliamentary groups, and Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Salih, parliamentary group leader of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said that the process of allocating committee seats to various parties in the Majlis, in accord with the agreement, was being undertaken as he spoke. However, he did not reveal any details about the specifics of the arrangement.

Mr. Salih said that details about the arrangement made today would be revealed in a special meeting tonight, at 8:30 pm. “The Speaker shall announce the details about how allocation of seats in committees among MPs from various parties and independents would be done,” he said. However, al-Ustaad Ahmed Mohamed, the Secretary General of the Majlis said that the decision to hold a meeting tonight was not yet final.

Disagreements about the distribution of seats in the Standing Committees in the Majlis among MDP, Divehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP), the main opposition, other minority parties and independent candidates arose after DRP lost majority of the Majlis to MDP following defection by a number of MPs in DRP, who joined the ruling MDP during the Majlis recess in May.