The Parliament of the Maldives has elected Qasim Ibrahim as the new speaker with 62 votes in favour, following the resignation of Abdulla Maseeh from the position.
During the vote taken in the sixth sitting of the third session of the parliament in 2018, Abdul Raheem Abdulla, who contested from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives, got 16 votes while there were 5 abstentions.
Qasim Ibrahim was endorsed by the joint opposition as the new speaker, following the announcement of efforts of opposition to oust Abdulla Maseeh. However, Maseeh resigned ahead of the no-confidence motion scheduled against him.
Qasim, who also leads Jumhooree Party, was first elected as a Member of Parliament in 1989. Since then, he has been actively engaged in the political arena of the country. He was also the speaker of the special parliament assembled to formulate the constitution which came into existence in 2008.