The original Dhivehi article was published on Avas.mv website on 2nd April 2017. By Moosa Rasheed
The following is a loose translation:
After a long time, last month was a month we saw the size of the waves in the political sea of the Maldives.
Four opposition leaders joined forces and came out together to oppose the government, holding a single rope was one reason which created some political unease. Their attempt to oust the speaker and the deputy of the parliament is a bomb in the political arena. How the first attack which targeted the speaker of the Majlis Abdulla Maseeh was brought to nought by the coalition of the government was clearly seen on the parliament floor on the 27th of last month.
The talks and the plans the opposition displayed for the censure vote was visible and the pull and tug were to such an extent that created doubts about the outcome. Instead of political sweet talk, what was shown was baseless complaints brought to the floor and opposition leaving the floor.
After the defeat of 27th, the opposition has now submitted to oust the Deputy Speaker and the member of Hulhu-henveiru constituency Reeko Moosa Manik.
While the vote against Moosa is tabled for the 11th of this month the tremors in the political arena continues as previously. However, the attack from the unified opposition against Maseeh has resulted in nothing, and the tremors the opposition is creating right now have sunk to a deeper level. The hope and fervor they had when they claimed to have “majority” earlier is no longer visible. What we can see is that they are attempting to change the picture without accepting their defeat.
Since April 11 is ahead, this is a week anything can happen politically. However, even though the government coalition won the vote against Maseeh, doubt they will remain relaxed about it. They do realize how important a person Moosa is to their coalition. The opposition is saying that even if it comes to raising hands or legs they will oust Moosa from the Deputy Speaker post on the 11th.
Can the opposition garner enough support to result in a vote that will expel Moosa? Also, another question is, what will the results be when they achieve by the censure vote against Moosa?
“The vote taken on the 27th is void. Hence, Maseeh’s case will be re-submitted. And before that, we will win the vote against Moosa and remove him from his post. We the opposition are united and are saying the same thing. And also the government side members who backed out will not do the same this time”, a senior member of the opposition told Avas online newspaper.
The major complaint by the opposition in the vote against Maseeh was that in the vote taken electronically to allow a roll-call, Galolhu South member Ahmed Mahloof and Reeko Moosa was recorded as voted. A vote that was taken by a faulty machine cannot be deemed valid. However, recently, what really happened that day has also been revealed. The video that showed a member meddling with Moosa and Mahloof’s voting apparatus is enough to close the mouths of those complaining about the faulty machine. There is no other complaint left to be raised.
The government coalition has said that they will certainly bring to nought the vote against Moosa too. Similar to the way they came out in defense of Maseeh, they are saying that they will also protect Moosa. Moosa also has demonstrated his loyalty to the government.
“We are with the Deputy Speaker of Parliament Moosa Manik. God willing, the unity of our PPM/MDA coalition will again be seen on the day of Moosa’s vote”, PPM Parliamentary group leader Ahmed Nihan has said.
Another member said with all the formulas what the opposition got was a nought. Again they will see the same result.
“Even if there are members who oppose Moosa in the censure vote, we will have a clear large majority. That is assured even now. We have proven that… no matter how many times they submit against Moosa and Maseeh we will throw that out”.
Even though the opposition got 26 signatures to submit against Maseeh, MDP could only get 15 signatures to submit the case against Moosa. That is the minimum number of signatures needed to file a case of no confidence. Further, as Moosa’s role is assisting the speaker and he is a person who has “gained a reputation” amongst the opposition, it is likely that the opposition will be softer on him.
Thus we can estimate the result of the vote scheduled for the 11th. If we look at the past there is no way this vote of no confidence can be won against Moosa.
“I am a person who has to do work assigned to me by the speaker. I do not have any influence over decisions made by members and the speaker to change the outcome. However, the opposition has squeezed this against me through that space for a totally selfish political motive. I cannot believe this because there are no issues raised against me”, Reeko Moosa said.
Source URL: Avas.mv
