Bill to merge two elections passes, MDP voted against

The amendment to the Constitution to hold the Presidential and Parliamentary elections simultaneously proposed by the government has been passed by the Parliament.

46 members voted to pass the amendment submitted by ruling PNC parliamentary group leader and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falaah. Five members voted against it, with them being MDP members who attended today's sitting.

The bill has been sent to the Committee on Independent Institutions, with a committee sitting having been put on today's agenda.

Today's debate saw very few members in Parliament. While PNC members debated in favor of the bill, MDP members debated against it. MDP members expressed criticism due to the quickened pace of the work surrounding the bill.

MDP's Interim Chairperson and Hanimaadhoo MP Abdul Ghafoor Moosa has said that a protest will be held against the merging of both 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.

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.

The bill submitted by Falaah proposes holding presidential and parliamentary elections simultaneously and includes amendments related to the calculation of parliamentary terms and age requirements, as well as necessary changes to the Constitution.

According to the bill, parliamentary elections will be held every five years alongside presidential elections. It states that the term of the next Parliament will begin on December 1, 2028, with the current parliamentary term set to expire on that date.

As such, the bill proposes that parliamentary elections be held before December 1, 2028, together with the presidential election, effectively merging the two polls.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has repeatedly stated that both elections would be combined and held simultaneously, citing that it would reduce state expenditure.

As per Falaah, merging the elections could save the state an estimated MVR 70 million.

Even though Ghafoor said that MDP would stand opposed to the merging of elections, former President Mohamed Nasheed expressed support for the amendment, while former MDP Chairperson Fayyaz Ismail opposed it as well.