Rules changed to save speaker from impeachment
The ruling party-dominated parliament on Monday pushed through controversial changes to the rules of procedure to require a minimum of 42 signatures from the 85-member house to submit a no-confidence motion against the speaker or the deputy speaker.
10 Apr 2017, 9:00 AM
The ruling party-dominated parliament on Monday pushed through controversial changes to the rules of procedure to require a minimum of 42 signatures from the 85-member house to submit a no-confidence motion against the speaker or the deputy speaker.
The move came a day after the opposition coalition submitted a second no-confidence motion with 31 signatures to remove Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed. An impeachment vote against Deputy Speaker ‘Reeko’ Moosa Manik was also due to take place on Tuesday.
After the rules change was approved with 46 votes from ruling coalition lawmakers, Maseeh announced that both no-confidence motions have been “invalidated in line with the amended regulation”.
MPs from the opposition coalition boycotted the vote in protest, calling the changes “arbitrary and unconstitutional” as the speaker can be removed with fewer than 42 votes if the attendance is low.
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