PNC submits Parliament motion to oust Deputy Speaker Nazim

The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), which holds a supermajority in the Parliament, has submitted a no-confidence motion against Deputy Speaker Ahmed Nazim.

The Parliament’s Secretariat confirms it received the motion on Thursday.

The ruling party made the decision to remove the Dhiggaru representative from his position as Deputy Speaker during a parliamentary group meeting on Wednesday. However, the party has remained tight-lipped regarding the reason for the sudden loss of confidence in the prominent PNC lawmaker.

In a press statement on Thursday morning, the Parliament’s Secretariat confirmed a no-confidence motion had been filed against Nazim, and stated that they will be proceeding “in accordance with the Constitution and the Parliament’s standing orders.”

The Constitution states that a Deputy Speaker must be given a 14-day notice period in response to no-confidence motions, and that they must be given the chance to defend themselves during the debate on the floor regarding the motion.

However, they cannot take part in the vote.

The Parliament, which had been set to go into recess on Thursday, has decided to extend the current session to the end of May in order to carry out “important pending work.”

Nazim, who was pulled in late April from key parliamentary committees he sat in, was kicked out at around 06:00 am Wednesday from a WhatsApp group for PNC parliamentarians managed by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu.

A senior parliamentarian from the party told Sun that Nazim was instructed to resign, and that the party decided to file a no-confidence motion to force him out after he refused.

PNC has yet to make any official comment regarding why Nazim is being ousted from his position as Deputy Speaker.

Ibrahim Falah, the leader of PNC’s parliamentary group, has not responded to requests seeking a comment, despite repeated messages and phone calls.

Nazim has also remained unavailable for comment.

A no-confidence petition against the Deputy Speaker needs the endorsement of 24 parliamentarians to be filed with the Parliament – an easy feat for the PNC, which holds a supermajority in the Parliament with 75 out of 93 seats.

The push to remove Nazim from his position as Deputy Speaker comes with the government preparing to submit an amendment to the Political Parties Act, declaring the procedure for removal of parliamentarians.

The bill comes after the Supreme Court decided on April 29 that there was no basis to annul the contentious anti-defection clauses written into the Constitution in 2024 that empower political parties to unseat parliamentarians.

Nazim now risks losing his Parliament seat if he resigns from or is dismissed or expelled from the PNC.

However, the PNC has yet to decide to expel Nazim from the party itself.

The no-confidence motion comes after Nazim was pulled on April 21 from the Public Accounts Committee and the Security Services Committee (241 Committee) – the most powerful committees of the legislative assembly.

His sudden removal from the committees had sparked speculations that the PNC planned to file a no-confidence motion against him. However, the rumors were denied by Falah back then.