MDP opposes holding referendum alongside Council Elections

The opposition MDP has stated that they do not believe there is any justification for holding the referendum to seek public opinion on combining the two elections alongside the Local Council Elections.

During the meeting held yesterday by the Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee to seek the views of political parties on the bill to combine the two elections, former Member of Parliament for the Thulhaadhoo constituency, Hisaan Hussain, representing MDP, stated that holding the referendum so soon deprives citizens of the opportunity to make a well-informed decision.

However, she also noted that because there was no time to reach a decision through internal party discussions, they would not participate in that process.

"The result of you acting in this manner is that, in reality, for the changes mentioned in Article 262(b) of the Constitution, the citizens do not get the opportunity to make an informed decision on the types of matters that must be taken to the people," Hisaan said.

Following this statement, the MDP representatives did not provide further comments during yesterday's committee meeting.

In an earlier meeting held by the same committee with the Elections Commission (EC) and the Attorney General’s Office, the MDP Member of Parliament for the South Galolhu constituency, Meekail Ahmed Naseem, also raised questions regarding whether citizens would have sufficient time to receive adequate information if the referendum is held alongside the Local Council Elections.

Although Meekail repeatedly questioned the President of the EC, Mohamed Zahid, on this matter, Zahid did not provide a direct answer. He stated that the EC would act according to what is stipulated in the law.

Consequently, when Meekail repeatedly requested Zahid to express his opinion in his capacity as the President of the EC, the situation escalated, leading to a heated argument during yesterday's committee meeting between the PNC Member of Parliament for the Baarashu constituency, Ibrahim Shujau, and Meekail.