Security forces shut Maldives parliament, leading to clashes between lawmakers and police
A no-confidence motion against Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed was scheduled to have been taken up Monday, according to the opposition
Maldivian security forces locked down parliament on orders from the president on Monday, leading to clashes after opposition lawmakers stormed the compound in an attempt to vote on whether to impeach the parliamentary speaker.
President Yameen Abdul Gayoom has been accused of rolling back democratic gains the Maldives has made since becoming a multi-party democracy in 2008.
A no-confidence motion against Speaker Abdulla Maseeh Mohamed was scheduled to have been taken up Monday, according to the opposition. It said the motion had support from 45 lawmakers in the 85-member house, which if it had succeeded would have challenged the president’s power.
The government, however, said no voting had been scheduled for Monday.
Members of the armed forces padlocked the gates of parliament on orders from Yameen, and lawmakers “were forcibly prevented from entering the parliamentary compound,” the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party said.
Some opposition lawmakers broke through the barrier, but they were forcibly thrown out by military and police who even pepper-sprayed them, said party spokesman Hamid Abdul Ghafoor.