Parliamentarians are debating on a motion that says that the Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has breached the privileges of the parliament.
The motion was submitted by the MP for Maradhoo Constituency Ibrahim Shareef who said that under the Standing Order of the Parliament, the session that hears the no-confidence motion submitted against the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament must be chaired by the Speaker but that Nasheed has refused to chair the session.
Nasheed had said before that he had recused himself from chairing any session until the no-confidence motion against him is resolved.
But MP Shareef pointed out that Nasheed has been performing other duties as the Speaker of the Parliament despite his refusal to chair sessions.
He accused the Speaker of violating Parliament regulations and besieging the legislative house.
He added that Nasheed has now breached the privileges and rights of the Parliament.
MP Shareef's motion was passed for debate with the 'Yes' votes from 37 MPs out of the 50 MPs present at the session today. Another 13 MPs voted against the motion.
Under Parliament Standing Order, a privilege motion takes precedence over other parliamentary works.
