Maldives: Opposition to submit impeachment motion against President Muizzu

The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) parliamentary group has agreed to submit an impeachment motion againstPresident Mohamed Muizzu in light of the recent diplomatic tussle with ally nations such as India.

MDP,in partnership with another opposition party, The Democrats, hasmanaged to gather enough signatures to initiate the impeachment motion. Videos accessed by WION showed the chaos inside the parliament as the ruling disposition attempted to thwart the no-confidence motion.

One of the MDP leaders, talking to WION said, a key reason why the motion was brought is because the current government had jeopardised the relations with India.

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Notably, former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's MDP isin control of the parliament and the ruling combine - Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and President Muizzu's People's National Congress (PNC) - does not have a parliamentary majority.

The parliament's regulations were revised last year which grants MDP the power to impeach Muizzu withoutrequiring support from minority parties.Following the amendment's parliamentary approval, an impeachmentrequires 54 votes while the current parliament session consists of 56 MDP members.

Additionally, the new amendment has reduced the number of members required on the impeachment committee to seven, while the inclusion of all the parties represented at the parliament is not required to be selected for the committee.

Watch |Maldives parliament proceedings halted as MPs come to blows

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Ruckus inside the Maldivian parliament

The impeachment move comes barely 24 hours after videos of clashes inside the Maldivian Parliament between pro-government MPs and opposition lawmakers went viral on social media.

The visuals, exclusively accessed by WION, showed lawmakers engaged in a fierce altercation. The government's lawmakers of thePPM and PNCdisrupted the proceeding over parliament and the speaker's functioning.

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Video | Maldives: Lawmakers indulge in scuffle ahead of key parliamentary vote

The scuffle broke out after MDP said it had decided not to vote toapproveMinister of Islamic Affairs DrMohamed Shaheem Ali Saeed, Attorney General Ahmed Usham,Minister of Housing, Land and Urban Development DrAli Haidarand Minister of Economic Development and Trade Mohamed Saeed.

The ruling PPM-PNC has argued that denying the parliamentary approval to Muizzu's cabinet amounts to obstructing the services the government provides to its citizens.

(With inputs from agencies)