Parliament committees reconstituted with over half the session consumed

The three dissenting votes were cast by Independent MPs Ahmed Amir and Ahmed “Redwave” Saleem along with Nolhivaram MP Mohamed Nasheed of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

MPs of the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party’s (DRP) Z-faction, Ahmed Mahlouf, Ilham Ahmed and Afrashim Ali, were notably chosen by the split main opposition party for the coveted ‘241’ Security Services Committee – the Z-DRP MPs disrupted last week’s sitting in protest of the previous compromise reached by PG leaders, which would have given the MDP a voting majority on the now-opposition controlled committee.

As a result of the drawn out dispute over committee composition – sparked by the defection of two opposition MPs to the ruling party in May – parliamentary committees have remained stalled since the current session began in June.