Parliament Members have initiated a petition against Vice President Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed, stating that he was working to defame the nation.
Dr. Jameel had departed to London, when the no confidence motion was filed against him in the Parliament. At that time, he was in Sri Lanka for medical treatment. Even though, he had not revealed a reason for his abrupt departure, he had issued a statement labelling the no confidence motion against him as “baseless”.
In a subsequent phone interview given to The New Indian Express, Dr. Jameel had described the no confidence motion against him as a “constitutional coup” and appealed foreign allies to intervene in the matter.
Following the interview, a senior official of ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) had alleged that the interview was an attempt to defame the Maldives in the global arena, causing undue pressure on the nation.
“He is still the Vice President. As an elected official, on public payroll, calling for international intervention into the matter, is very irresponsible. Its treachery and treason. This has been seen in our history,” the member said.
He added that it was due to this, the Members of the PPM Parliamentary Group had initiated such a petition. He also said that MPs of other parties have lent their support for the motion, citing that opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Jumhooree Party (JP) would support this motion. He said that this motion would be filed to the Parliament as soon as possible.
The Parliament Secretariat had submitted the required 14 day notice to Dr. Jameel on Tuesday. The notice would expire on the 13th of this month. Parliament is yet to finalize a date for the motion.
The no confidence motion of Dr. Jameel was submitted to the Parliament with the signatories of 61 MPs. All MPs of ruling PPM/ MDA coalition had supported the motion, while six MPs from opposition MDP and five MPs of JP supported the motion. Independents, Hulhuhenveyru Constituency MP Moosa Manik and Nolhivaram Constituency MP Hussain Areef also signed the motion.
For the motion to be passed 57 votes would be required. PPM had already claimed that the motion would get more votes than the required amount.
It has been widely reported that Tourism Minister Ahmed Adeeb is to be instated as the next Vice President.
Defamation petition to be filed against VP in Parliament
