Constitutional Amendment Bill Submitted to Align Presidential and Parliamentary Elections
Proposed constitutional changes aim to align Parliament’s term with simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections | Photo: ECM
A constitutional amendment bill has been submitted to Parliament seeking to align the terms of the Parliament to allow presidential and parliamentary elections to be held simultaneously.
The bill, submitted on behalf of the government by Member of Parliament Ibrahim Falah, aims to facilitate the holding of both elections on the same date in order to increase voter turnout and reduce the overall cost of conducting elections.
The proposed amendment revises the method for calculating the term of the Parliament, stipulating that the parliamentary term will be five years commencing from 1 December, after which the Parliament will be dissolved.
Under the proposed changes, the term of the 20th Parliament, which is currently due to expire in 2029, will be shortened to enable the combined elections. As a result, the Parliament will now expire on 1 December 2028. The bill further provides that upon dissolution, the first sitting of the succeeding Parliament must be held on the same day.
The first reading of the proposed constitutional amendment is scheduled to take place at a special sitting of Parliament on 5 January. The session will also hear the first readings of proposed amendments to the Maldives Pension Act and the Maldives Penal Code Act.
