Following clashes in Parliament over the weekend, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu faces impeachment proceedings. The main opposition MDP, which has a majority, reportedly has gathered the necessary signatures and intends to submit the motion on Monday. The developments coincide with an escalating diplomatic dispute with India.
Mohamed Muizzu was elected President of the Maldives in late 2023 with 54% of the vote. However, the ruling coalition has only 19 seats in the People’s Majlis, making Muizzu’s ouster a real possibility. An impeachment motion must be supported by a two-thirds majority of the 80-seat House.
The Maldivian Democratic Party, led by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, currently has a 43-member majority in Parliament. The Democratic Party, led by another former President, Mohamed Nasheed, controls 13 seats. In contrast, the Muizzu-led alliance only has 19 members.
“The MDP, in collaboration with the Democrats, has collected enough signatures for an impeachment motion. However, they have yet to submit it,” explained an MDP lawmaker to Sun.com.
According to the local news portal Adhadhu, 34 lawmakers have voted in favor of impeachment.
(with inputs from agencies)
Mohamed Muizzu was elected President of the Maldives in late 2023 with 54% of the vote. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the incumbent leader, trailed the People’s National Congress candidate by about 46% of the total votes.
President Mohamed Muizzu faces impeachment proceedings.
According to media reports on Monday, the main opposition MDP, which holds a majority in the Maldivian Parliament, intends to submit a motion to impeach President Mohamed Muizzu.
The development comes a day after pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers clashed in Parliament over the approval of four members of President Xi Jinping’s pro-China cabinet.
After the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and The Democrats’ parliamentary group decided to withhold parliamentary approval for four members of President Muizzu’s cabinet before voting, pro-government MPs from the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives and People’s National Congress (PPM/PNC) coalition staged a protest, obstructing the parliamentary session.
“The MDP, in collaboration with the Democrats, has collected enough signatures for an impeachment motion. However, they have yet to submit it,” the Sun.com reported, citing an MDP lawmaker.
According to The Edition.mv, the MDP’s parliamentary group meeting on Monday unanimously decided to file an impeachment motion.
Muizzu, 45, defeated India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in last September’s presidential runoff.
Soon after taking oath as President of the Maldives on November 17, Muizzu formally requested India to withdraw 88 military personnel from his country by March 15, claiming that the Maldivian people had given him a “strong mandate” to do so.
The Parliament, which has 87 members, recently changed its standing orders to make it easier to file an impeachment motion. The MDP and Democrats have 56 MPs combined, with 43 from the MDP and 13 from the Democrats.
“The Constitution, along with the Parliament’s standing orders, dictates that the president can be impeached with 56 votes,” according to a report by the Sun.
The gathering of signatures for an impeachment motion against the President comes a day after the PPM-PNC coalition submitted no-confidence motions against Speaker Mohamed Aslam and Deputy Speaker Ahmed Saleem, both MDP members.
