Parliament Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed has resigned ahead of the no-confidence motion against him scheduled for tonight. Parliamentary Group leader of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) Ahmed Nihan Hussain Manik confirmed the speaker's resignation.
The resignation comes in the wake of the decision by the General Purpose Committee of Parliament that the no-confidence motion filed against Parliament Speaker Abdulla Maseeh last year with 45 signatories is valid, after which the motion was scheduled for tonight's parliament sitting.
12 of the parliamentarians that were signatory to the no-confidence motion filed against Speaker Maseeh last year were summoned to the Supreme Court by the Attorney General, accusing them of being in contradiction with the charters of their respective political parties. It was followed by a Supreme Court ruling on floor-crossing, which was in turn alluded to, when the Elections Commission declared the parliamentarians had lost their seats. The no-confidence motion thereby, was nullified on the basis that it did not have the required number of signatories.
However, the Supreme Court had concluded the membership of the 12 parliamentarians remain valid. It led to the General Purpose Committee to decide the no-confidence motion filed against Maseeh last year with 45 signatories is, in turn, valid.
Last week, a new no-confidence motion being filed against the speaker with 51 signatories. However, with the General Purpose Committee declaring last year's motion valid, the motion filed last week, was nullified.