Parliament Approves Amendment for Biannual By-Elections

Parliament has accepted a government-proposed amendment to hold by-elections for local councils and women’s development committees twice a year, in a unanimous decision.

All 77 members in attendance voted in favour of the amendment during yesterday’s session. The bill has now been forwarded to the Decentralisation Committee for further review.

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Under the current law, by-elections must be held within 60 days of a seat becoming vacant. The new amendment proposes to extend this period to 183 days, effectively mandating by-elections to be held twice a year. The amendment stipulates that the interval between by-elections should be no more than 183 days and no less than 120 days.

However, the government has also proposed an amendment to the Decentralisation Act, retaining the 60-day timeframe for certain situations. Specifically, if a council president or mayor’s position becomes vacant, a by-election must be held within 14 days. For a vacant deputy president or deputy mayor’s position, the by-election must occur within 30 days. Should both the mayor or council president’s position and the deputy position be vacant, the by-election must be held within 7 days.

Additionally, if a member’s vacancy affects the quorum for meetings, the amendment requires a by-election within 60 days.

The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has expressed concerns about the frequency of by-elections throughout the year. This issue was previously addressed by the 19th Parliament, which proposed holding by-elections once annually. However, this proposal did not progress in Parliament at that time.