Parliament Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla has emphasised that the Parliament is not controlled by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu. He made the statement in response to Kendhoo MP Mauroof Zakir, during a committee report debate.
During the debate on the General Committee’s report on amendment proposed to accelerate summoning individuals to Parliament committees, MP Mauroof alleged that the Parliament was controlled by the President.
"Honorable Speaker knows very well that this Parliament is now directly under the full control of the President, especially the Speaker. This Parliament is operated like operating bots,.." he stated.
Interrupting Mauroof, Speaker Abdul Raheem asked the MP not to insult members of the Parliament. He affirmed that the Parliament is running in accordance with the rules and regulations formulated by the Parliament.
“Your statement that the President controls the entire Parliament as well as the Speaker is not an accurate statement ,” he said.
Abdul Raheem said the Maldives separates its powers into three branches under a system which allows each branch to operate independently without influence from others.
“I do not believe that the party to which the President belongs to holding supermajority in the Parliament is a reason to state that the President controls the entire Parliament,” he stated.
The main opposition, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has previously accused members of the 20th Parliament of being "bots", while the Speaker continues to urge them not to speak disrespectfully regarding Parliament members.