MDP questions legality of reinstation of 3 ministers it had denied approval

MALE: A day after Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu re-appointed three members of his cabinet, who were denied approval during a vote in Parliament, the main opposition party on Tuesday said it is looking into the legality of his move.

Led by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which has the highest number of members, the Maldivian Parliament on Monday voted to deny approval to Housing Minister Ali Haidar Ahmed, Islamic Minister Mohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed and Attorney General Ahmed Usham, while Economic Minister Mohamed Saeed narrowly survived the same fate.

However, by evening, President Muizzu had reinstated all of them.

Ali Niyaz, a top MDP official, told Sun.mv that the reappointment of the three ministers was open to a huge legal debate. “We (the MDP party) are therefore seeking legal counsel to determine whether the president is authorised to make such a decision and also to decide the MDP’s next move.

“Our stand is clear. They do not have our approval. This stand hasn’t changed,” Niyaz was saying.

The Maldivian Parliament has a total of 80 members. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has 45, followed by its ally The Democrats (DEM) with 13 members. Of the ruling coalition of PPM-PNC, the Progressive Party of the Maldives has 2 while the People’s National Congress has 13 members. There are three independents while the Jumhooree Party and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) have two each.