Decision to establish secret no-confidence votes is void: Counsel General

Parliament Counsel General Fathimath Filza has advised Parliament’s General Committee that the Committee’s decision to establish no-confidence votes as secret votes, is void.

A member of the Committee told Sun Online today, that Filza has informed that the meeting of the Committee last Tuesday night in the absence of its Chairman and Deputy Chairman, was held against Parliament regulations.

“So we would have to put the issue on the Committee’s agenda once again,” the member told Sun Online.

The complaint that the Committee meeting was held against Parliament rules was filed to the Counsel General by the Committee’s Deputy Chairman, Kudahuvadhoo MP Ahmed Amir.

Amir is in charge of the Committee at the moment, as its Chairperson Maafannu-hulhangu MP Abdul Raheem Abdullah is out of the country.

Amir could not attend the meeting held on Tuesday night as he was not in Male’, and the meeting was chaired by Henveiru-medhu MP Ali Azim.

The amendment to make no-confidence votes secret votes, submitted by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), was passed by votes of MDP members present at the Committee meeting.

Parliament rules stipulate that the responsibilities of the Committee Chairman, in his absence, must be assumed by the Committee Deputy Chairman.

MDP’s attempts to establish no-confidence votes as secret votes comes at a time when no-confidence motions have been filed against President Dr Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik and Home Minister Dr Mohamed Jameel Ahmed.

Voting for the no-confidence motion against the Home Minister is on the agenda of the Parliament sitting of 14 November.