Govt wishes to hold referendum vote along with Local Council Election to combine two elections

With the current bill proposing that the parliamentary term be shortened and an amendment be brought to the Constitution to hold the Presidential and Parliamentary elections simultaneously, the government stated today that they want to hold a referendum vote along with the Local Council Election.

Criticism has been floating around with the bill to Parliament seeking to merge the two elections having been put on the agenda today after an extraordinary session was held while Parliament was in recess.

An official from the Attorney General's office told Mihaaru News that a public referendum vote needs to be held as the Parliament passed the proposal to hold both elections simultaneously.

The official stated it is the government's view that there would be a large cost incurred with the referendum vote having to be held separately across Maldives.

"And so, the government wishes to hold the referendum vote along with the Local Council Election. This will lighten the expenditure on the referendum vote substantially," said the official.

The Election's Commission (EC) has decided that the Local Council Election will be held on 4th April.

The official went on to say that the next legal obstacle is the timeframe of the referendum vote which began being observed last September.

The act states that there should be at least 45 days and 90 days at the most between the request to hold a referendum vote and the vote itself. Activities to hold awareness campaigns must also be held within that time frame.

The Attorney General's office official said that even though the merging of elections was put on the agenda during today's Parliamentary hearing, a decision may only be made when Parliament reconvenes in February.

And so, the official stated that a referendum vote needs to be held within 45 days as per the act.

"What is important to the government is to decrease expenditure. Next is the timeframe of the act of the referendum vote. If that timeframe cannot be reached, then the process needs to start now. The priority is to reduce expenditure," said the official.

The Parliament shall continue for one year starting from 1st December. Once the one year is up, the Parliament will be dissolved (Amendment to Article 79 (a) of the Constitution).

Once the current Parliament is up and dissolved, the first sitting of the newly elected Parliament will be held on 1st December (Amendment to be put before Article 79 (b)).

Once the bill is passed, the current Parliament will continue until 1st December 2028. Once Article 79 of the Constitution is amended, the earliest Parliament Election is to be held before 1st December 2028, with the first sitting to be held on that date as well.

The bill to Parliament seeking to merge the two elections was submitted by ruling PNC parliamentary group leader and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falaah.

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has previously stated that holding the two elections together would result in significant cost savings for the state. Speaking at a PNC meeting, he said the move would save MVR 120 million from the national budget.

“The MVR 120 million will be used to resolve the problems of many poor families,” the President said.

While opposing political party leaders have a difference of opinion regarding the merging of both elections, former President Mohamed Nasheed has come out in support of the government's decision.

Former President Abdulla Yameen and former MDP Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail, who is working to win the MDP ticket for the Presidential Election, have expressed that they are against the merging last night.