EC Vice President Ismail Habeeb affirmed that the commission would abide by the Constitution and laws. With these new amendments, the parliamentary election should now be scheduled for April 20.
Elections Commission (EC) has said that they will deliberate on the decision made by the Parliament today in voting in favour of the amendment to the General Elections Act which prohibits the holding of elections in Ramadan.
This bill effectively mandates the postponement of the upcoming parliamentary elections as well, which has till now been scheduled to be held in the first week of Ramadan, on March 17.
EC Vice President Ismail Habeeb affirmed that the commission would abide by the Constitution and laws. However, he added, the course of action that must be taken under the current circumstances will be decided upon after deliberations amongst the members of the commission.
"We will also act as written in the law. We will do as the law directs us to do," he said frankly.
"Members have decided to deliberate on this after the parliament passed the bill today. That's because there are things that we must do too, that the EC will be required to do," he explained.
EC, too, has previously voiced concerns about the election date falling in the midst of Ramadan. Speaking in majlis, they voiced their concerns that having the elections in Ramadan may significantly lower voter turnout. They further shared concerns regarding probable difficulties in sourcing and training election officials within that month.
Habeeb repeated these thoughts once again.
"If we are to hold the elections now, MVR 1.2 million has to be spent on employees' Ramadan allowance alone. There will be other expenses as well. There is no issue if the government wants to bear all this cost," he said.
The bill was passed today through a vote in Parliament after the President sent it back without ratification.
As per Article 91(b) of the Constitution, any Bill returned to the People’s Majlis for reconsideration without ratification shall be ratified by the President and published in the Gazette if the Bill, after reconsideration, is passed without any amendments, by a majority of the total membership of the parliament.
As the total number of parliamentarians is 87, the majority will be reached through a minimum of 43 votes. The bill was passed today through the votes of 47 members. 14 members voted against.
With these new amendments, the parliamentary election is now scheduled for April 20.
In a press conference held today, MDP has warned that members of the Elections Commission will be expelled from their positions if they do not honour and follow the bill as passed in parliament today.
They further said that based on an earlier Supreme Court ruling, the President must ratify the election postponement bill passed by parliament immediately, within the day.
During the administration of former President Mohamed Nasheed, he delayed ratification of a bill passed twice by the parliament in this same manner. Fonadhoo constituency MP at the time, and current Special Advisor the President, Abdul Raheem Abdulla, subsequently lodged a case at the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court's ruling on this case reads that unless a circumstance that is beyond human control is obstructing the matter, the President must ratify the bill without any delay.
Sign In
