Eva refuses to process Nasheed no-confidence motion

Deputy Speaker Eva Abdulla refused to process the no-confidence motion submitted against Speaker Mohamed Nasheed on Sunday, stating that she does not believe it can be processed following the presidency’s earlier rejection of the motion.

The sitting scheduled for Sunday morning was chaired by Vilifushi MP Hassan Afeef after Eva called in sick.

At the sitting, which began at 09:00 am, lawmakers from the Democrats questioned the legitimacy of the motion – submitted by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

They argued that it did not fit the standards for a motion.

Afeef, who like Nasheed and Eva is a member of the Democrats, accepted the point of order raised by the party, and instructed the MDP to re-submit the motion, before abruptly adjourning the sitting.

But the Parliament’s Secretariat re-scheduled the motion again for 11:30 am, which, in a surprise move, was chaired by Eva.

Opening the sitting, Eva said that she does not believe the motion can be processed given the presidency’s earlier decision to dismiss it.

“I therefore do not believe this sitting can be continued any further today. Given that the presidency has already made a decision on this motion, by rejecting it in light of a point of order, I do not believe this sitting can be continued,” she said, as she adjourned the sitting amid fierce protest from MDP lawmakers.

The MDP had originally submitted no-confidence motions against both Nasheed – the party’s former leader - and Eva earlier this year. The motion against Eva was submitted with the endorsement on 50 MPs in May, and the motion against Nasheed followed, with the endorsement of 54 MPs, in June.

But the MDP withdrew the motions in September, while the party was engaged in negotiations with the Democrats – the party to which both Nasheed and Eva belong – for the presidential runoff election.

The recent motion against Nasheed was submitted with the endorsement of 49 MPs on October 9.

The motion was initially tabled for October 26, after the 14-day notice period. But Eva, Nasheed’s cousin and fellow Democrats member, called in sick all through that week, thwarting the motion.

The MDP lodged a constitutional case with the Supreme Court over the issue on October 29.

And last week, Eva recused herself from chairing sittings, citing the case submitted to the Supreme Court. And the Parliament decided against tabling the motion until the court issued its judgement.

The Supreme Court delivered its judgement on Thursday. It decided that the Parliament can process the motion without Eva, and found the decision to halt the motion unconstitutional.