Parliament of the Maldives has scheduled proceedings of the no-confidence motion against Minister of Communication, Science and Technology Mohamed Maleeh Jamal for the sitting to be held on March 1.
The no-confidence motion against Minister Maleeh was submitted to the Parliament earlier this month by the Parliamentary Group (PG) Leader of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Ali Azim. As per the standard procedure on no-confidence motions, the Parliament notified Maleeh on the motion on February 15 in order to give him time to prepare his defence.
The decision to initiate the no-confidence motion against Maleeh was passed by the MDP PG on November 22 last year. The no-confidence motion was initiated by Parliamentarian Meekail Ahmed Naseem, citing Maleeh’s failure to fulfill his responsibilities in formulating the regulations mandated under the Telecommunication Act.
The letter by Parliamentarian Meekail Ahmed Naseem to the MDP PG noted the Communication Authority of Maldives (CAM) has not formulated any of the regulations required under the Telecommunication Act in the past two years. Noting the responsibility lies on the ministry tasked with overseeing CAM, Parliamentarian Meekail said Maleeh’s failure to carry out his responsibilities has hindered the efforts to regulate the telecommunication sector of the Maldives.
A no-confidence motion against a minister can be passed with the majority of all sitting members of the parliament. Therefore, 43 votes are required to remove Maleeh from his position.