Parliament passes new standing orders; introduces break for Dhuhr prayer

The Parliament passed new standing orders for the 20th legislative assembly on Wednesday, introducing a break for Dhuhr prayer.

The new standing orders, drafted by the General Purpose Committee, was called to vote at the floor on Wednesday afternoon.

Some of the key changes brought to the standing orders include stipulating that the regulation on parliamentary services declared on Article 15 (d) of the standing orders will remain in effect, even if the term of the parliamentary assembly expires.

Another change is stipulating that the Parliament will be legally represented by the attorney general instead of the counsel general.

The new standing orders also removed provisions that contradicted with the anti-defection law.

The General Purpose Committee also decided to change the break time from 12:30 pm to 01:00 pm to 12:00 pm to 01:00 pm, so that it does not clash with the Dhuhr prayer time.

Meanwhile, Article 18 lists the penalties for violation of the code of conduct for parliamentarians. This includes suspension from committee meetings, except for meetings where important matters such as the president’s impeachment is decided.

Velidhoo MP Mohamed Abbas, the deputy president of Maldives Development Alliance (MDA), proposed an amendment to the committee’s report. He proposed extending debate time for parliamentarians on emergency motions from the current three minutes to five minutes.

The motion was seconded by Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falah, the leader of the main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC)’s parliamentary group.

The motion passed with a unanimous vote of 63.

Meanwhile, the new standing orders passed with a unanimous vote of 64.

The incumbent parliamentary assembly, which took office on May 28, had been following the standing orders passed by the previous assembly until new ones could be passed.