Gayoom praises PPM MPs for rejecting ‘unconstitutional’ bills
Gayoom, who heads the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives, said the lawmakers who voted against the party’s whip line did so “in line with the ruling party’s principles and objectives”.
21 Aug 2016, 9:00 AM
Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has praised ruling party MPs who voted against restricting freedoms of speech, press, and assembly, condemning the recently passed bills as “unconstitutional”.
Gayoom, who heads the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives, said the lawmakers who voted against the party’s whip line did so “in line with the PPM’s principles and objectives”.
“My hope is that other PPM MPs will follow the example of these MPs and work genuinely with courage for the sake of the nation and the public,” he said in a statement issued on Thursday.
Several MPs of the 47-member PPM parliamentary group either said No, abstained, or did not participate in votes to pass both the heavily criticised anti-defamation law and a bill restricting protests to designated areas in the capital.
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