Secret voting for no-confidence motions passed again by Committee

The Parliament’s General Committee has once again passed to establish secret voting for no-confidence motions against the President, Vice President and members of Independent Institutions.

This time, the amendment was filed by Maldivian Democratic Party’s (MDP) Maafannu-dhekunu MP Ibrahim Rasheed.

General Committee Chairman Abdullah Abdul Raheem said that the amendment was passed today with four votes in favour, out of the nine MPs present at the meeting. The remaining MPs did not participate in the vote.

“The motion will be sent to the Parliament as soon as the report is completed,” Abdul Raheem said.

The amendment proposed to Article 167 of the Standing Orders states that secret ballots should be taken at the Parliament and Parliament Committees for removing the President, Vice President and members of Independent Institutions from office.

Rasheed motivated the amendment by saying that considering the current political situation in the country, it is important to establish an independent and secure environment for Members of Parliament during voting.

The same amendment was earlier submitted to Parliament by MDP’s Baarah MP Mohamed Shifaz. The amendment was approved by the Parliament’s General Committee and presented to Parliament, but did not receive enough support to be passed.

MDP’s efforts to establish secret voting come prior to the voting on the no-confidence motion filed by the party against the President.