State of emergency extended by 30 days in Maldives

MALE - The Maldivian parliament on Tuesday approved the extension of a state of emergency by 30 days following a request by President Abdulla Yameen, local media reported.

The vote was held in the parliament on Tuesday evening in the 85-member chamber.

Thirty eight Members of Parliaments (MPs) out of the 40 present voted in favor of the motion.

At the start of Tuesday's special proceedings, Parliament Speaker Abdulla Maseeh said MPs could have an hour to debate the national security committee's report on extending the state of emergency.

Speaker Maseeh further said that an attendance of a minimum 43 MPs was not needed for the vote as according to the constitution, the compliance of citizens was not needed to extend the state of emergency.

President Yameen on Monday requested the parliament to extend the state of emergency by 30 days due to the present threat to national security and a constitutional crisis following the Supreme Court's ruling on Feb. 1 ordering the release of detained opposition leaders, including self-exiled former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Opposition legislators boycotted the parliamentary sessions on Monday when the matter was taken up, which led to those present forwarding the issue to Parliament's National Security Committee for further deliberation.

The Maldivian president declared a 15-day state of emergency on Feb 5 after the surprise Supreme Court ruling.

The Supreme Court ruling was, however, rescinded shortly after the declaration of the state of emergency.