Parliament Warns Unapproved Petitions Do Not Meet Regulatory Requirements

Parliament has urged citizens to ensure that petitions listed on its official e-petition platform have received formal approval before signing, warning that petitions without such approval do not meet the regulatory requirements set out under parliamentary rules.

In a press release issued today, Parliament outlined the procedure required for a petition to be published on the Electronic Petition System. A petition must first be submitted with a minimum of five signatures. Parliament then conducts a compliance check, and if the petition meets regulatory requirements, it is opened on the portal for public signatures.

“Unless the petition is open for public signature through the e-petition portal, it will not be considered to meet the conditions set out in the regulations of the People’s Majlis. In that case, the petition remains the personal petition of the petitioner,” Parliament stated.

It further advised the public to verify that a petition is officially published on the e-petition portal and listed under “Open for Signatures” before signing.

Parliament launched the Maldives’ first-ever Electronic Petition System on Sunday, introducing a feature that allows petitions to be sent directly to the parliament floor if they collect more than 2,100 signatures. The portal enables citizens to submit and track petitions online, with signatures verified through the national digital identification system, eFaas. Once a petition reaches 500 signatures, petitioners may seek sponsorship from a Member of Parliament or continue collecting signatures to trigger legal thresholds within the system.

At present, one petition is listed as “Open for Signatures” on the platform. The petition concerns the practice of allowing foreigners to wear revealing clothing, such as bikinis, on public beaches on inhabited islands. As of 3:00 p.m. today, it has received more than 1,200 signatures. A petition must secure 0.5 percent of the population’s signatures, approximately 2,100, to be sent to the parliament floor for debate.

Another petition, calling for a ban on social media use by children under the age of 16, is currently circulating but has not been opened by Parliament for signatures, as it is not listed under the tab where the petitions that are open for signatures are listed. It lists 19 signatures at the time of reporting.