Opposition lawmakers protest as Maldivian Parliament resumes functioning under tight security

The Maldivian Parliament resumed functioning under tight security on Tuesday, hours after proceedings were halted because the army had occupied the premises to prevent the opposition from bringing a no-confidence motion against the Speaker Abdullah Maseeh.

"The parliament sitting scheduled for early Tuesday commenced under high security inside the chambers amidst protests of opposition lawmakers," the Maldives Times reported.

Since the parliament administration had recently quashed the opposition's motion of no confidence against Speaker Maseeh, the opposition members had declared that they would not allow any sittings to take place under the chairmanship of Maseeh.

The lawmakers had filed the impeachment motion with 45 signatures, including 10 from defecting lawmakers from ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).

However, following a rushed Supreme Court ruling on anti-defection which resulted in four of the PPM lawmakers being unseated, the parliament administration had declared the no confidence motion invalid as the number of signatures had dropped below the required minimum of 42.

After the government lost its majority in parliament due to defections of Member of Parliament (MPs) to the opposition, the ruling part used strong arm tactics including ejecting opposition MPs from the chamber and deploying the army in parliament to prevent them from returning.

Maldivian opposition lawmakers were reportedly man-handled up my military inside parliament.