Dr Shaheed will face a no-confidence debate on August 22, after he said “over the past forty years the Majlis [parliament] has failed to protect people’s rights.” Opponents accuse him of “deflecting blame,” from President Gayoom.
And despite the claims of outgoing ministers Dr Saeed and Jameel that President Gayoom has obstructed reform, Dr Shaheed has vowed to continue in the cabinet.
Isolated
Thirteen MPs signed a no-confidence motion against the Foreign Minister following his outspoken remarks about parliament two weeks ago.
A previous motion to hold a parliamentary investigation into Dr Shaheed narrowly failed last week. But only three government members voted against it, while several cabinet ministers abstained.
Dr Shaheed agreed the vote showed he is “isolated” in government.
“I was very disappointed. I expected more solidarity. Ministers should categorically oppose a no-confidence motion in a colleague.”
With thirty four of the fifty MPs required to pass a no confidence motion, it will almost definitely not pass. But Shaheed may be further isolated if government members abstain again.
One person not to blame
Dr Saeed and Mohamed Jameel resigned saying “the reform process has failed,” because President Gayoom personally obstructed it.
Asked what implications the resignations had on his own position, Dr Shaheed said. “If I believe we [the cabinet] are no longer able to pursue the reform agenda, my position will not be tenable.”
But he said that time had not come yet. He defended the President’s commitment to reform, saying, “It is unreasonable to blame problems on one single person.”
More Reform not less
The departure of Saeed and Jameel is a personal blow to Dr Shaheed. Saeed and Shaheed are credited with authoring the roadmap to reform, and they set up the Open Society NGO together.
The Foreign Minister now has only one out and out reformist colleague in the cabinet, the Gender Minister Aishath Didi.
Dr Shaheed himself admitted, “there are reformists and conservatives in the government, and from time to time of course the President has to come down on one side.”
But he denied reformists would now hold no influence in the cabinet. “Let’s wait and see who is appointed. But I expect a cabinet which is strongly balanced in favour of reform.”
“There will be an even greater shift towards reform in the coming months,” he predicted.
Asked if it the appointment of hardline ministers would make it “no longer possible to pursue the reform agenda,” and trigger his resignation, Shaheed said, “I have not thought about specific circumstances.”
Source: Minivan News
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
