Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (C) chairs a PPM council meeting. PHOTO/PPM
Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)’s leader Maumoon Abdul Gayoom put together a new Disciplinary Committee late Monday, suspending PPM’s original committee.
According to Gayoom’s faction of PPM, the current Disciplinary Committee had failed to probe issues with objective independence, thus necessitating the formation of a new temporary committee. Gayoom was authorised to suspend the committee and form a new one during a council meeting he chaired.
The new committee features interim members Adam Rasheed, Mohamed Nizam, Mariyam Saeeda, Lufshan Shakeeb and Khalis Najeeb.
The Disciplinary Committee is mandated to probe cases filed against PPM members regarding disciplinary and behavioural issues. The committee is the first phase of action and the defendants may file for appeal should they disagree with the committee’s verdict.
Party regulations dictate seven members on the Disciplinary Committee, all eligible to vote, five of whom are elected during the party congress while the remaining two are chosen by the defendants. The quorum for committee meetings is two-thirds of the committee.
While Gayoom’s section had expressed outrage at the Disciplinary Committee’s decision to expel Gayoom’s son and Dhiggaru MP Faris Maumoon from PPM earlier this year amid the public fall-out between Gayoom and his half-brother and incumbent president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, the committee is currently looking into cases filed against Baarah MP Ibrahim Sujaau and Thulusdhoo MP Ibrahim Waheed. The two lawmakers remain loyal to Gayoom in the PPM now divided into two factions with President Yameen heading the other.
Other cases submitted to the committee include members that violated the whip-line at parliamentary voting sessions, though these cases remain untouched. The committee’s chair and Yameen loyalist Ali Waheed said the meetings did not meet the quorum, thus delaying progress.
Meanwhile, a civil lawsuit was filed against the elder Gayoom accusing him of violating the party charger and impeding its effective functioning. The Civil Court had ruled that Gayoom hand over party control to President Yameen and the High Court had upheld the same verdict. Gayoom has refused to recognise the rulings and plans to appeal the case at the Supreme Court.