President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih early Friday morning temporarily transferred presidential power to Vice President Faisal Naseem as he was unable to perform the duties and responsibilities of office while undergoing a medical procedure.
This comes after President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih announced last night that he had to undergo surgery as part of his thyroid treatment and had decided to step away from presidential responsibilities as he recovers from the surgery.
He had said that he will inform the Speaker of the Parliament about his decision and that Vice President Faisal Naseem would take over the Presidential duties for now.
Article 123 (a) of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives mandates the President to notify the Speaker of the People’s Majlis in writing of his temporary inability to perform the duties and responsibilities of the office and transfer presidential power to the Vice President.
The President's Office confirmed that as stipulated in Article 126 of the Constitution, Vice President Faisal Naseem, took his oath of office at 6 a.m. this morning to temporarily discharge the duties of the President.
The oath was administered by Chief Justice Ahmed Muthasim Adnan at a special ceremony held at the People’s Majlis in the presence of the Speaker of the parliament Mohamed Nasheed.
The President's Office also said that President Solih would resume his duties of the office upon completion of his medical procedure.
This is the first time the change of power had been transferred in the Maldives since the inception of its democratic government back in 2008.
