Embattled Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) is refusing to let the rebel lawmakers leave the ruling party, it has emerged on Wednesday.
After backing an opposition led censure motion to unseat the parliament speaker, as many as 10 PPM lawmakers have asked to leave the party.
However, PPM secretary general Dr Abdulla Khaleel has said the party can only accept their resignations after pending disciplinary proceedings are completed.
After the now opposition coalition in March had filed a second motion to unseat speaker Abdulla Maseeh, the government had engineered an amendment to the parliament rules of procedure raising the number of lawmaker signatures required to file a censure motion against the speaker and his deputy from 15 to 42.
The opposition had filed the third censure motion against Maseeh with 45 lawmakers which included ten lawmakers from the ruling party.
More lawmakers scrambled to leave the ruling party on Monday as the government in a desperate attempt to reverse the slide turned to the country's top court to disqualify rebel MPs.
As the AG was filing the constitutional case, Ihavandhoo MP Mohamed Abdulla, Thimarafushi MP Mohamed Musthafa and South-Thinadhoo MP Abdulla Mohamed officially asked to leave the party to join south-Machchangoalhi MP Abdulla Sinan, Villingili MP Saud Hussain and North-Thinadhoo MP Saudulla Hilmy to quit the party on Monday.
Dhihdhoo lawmaker Abdul Latheef Mohamed and Hanimaadhoo lawmaker Hussain Shahudhee also left the ruling party last week followed by Dhangethi MP Ilham Ahmed on Sunday.
North-Fuvahmulah MP Ali Shah late Tuesday also quit the party taking the tally of lawmakers to leave the embattled ruling party to 10 decimating the once mighty ruling coalition as the parliament minority.