The Parliament of the Maldives has officially notified Minister of Fisheries, Marine Resources and Agriculture Zaha Waheed on the no-confidence motion launched against her.
The no-confidence motion against Minister Zaha was submitted to the Parliament on March 10 with signatures from 10 parliamentarians across the opposition and independent members. The no-confidence motion was launched citing her failure to fulfill the pledges of the administration towards local fishermen.
As per the standard procedure on no-confidence motions, the Parliament has notified the Fisheries Minister on the motion in order to give her time to prepare her defence. The Constitution of the Maldives states a minister must be notified on any no-confidence motion launched against the minister 14 days before deliberations on the motion begin at the Parliament. The minister has the right to work in his or her defence in either written or spoken form during the deliberations.
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 a minister from the cabinet.
Zaha Waheed was appointed as the Fisheries Minister under the slots allocated for Maldives Reform Movement (MRM), one of the coalition partners of the current administration. Leader of MRM, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom has expressed his confidence in Minister Zaha amid the no-confidence motion.