Former Speaker of the Parliament Mohamed Shihab stated today that political parties would also benefit from holding the presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day, and that voting on a single day would not result in the loss of power held by the people.
As preparations are underway to hold a referendum alongside next month’s local council elections regarding the synchronization of the two major elections, Shihab, a veteran with 25 years of experience in the parliament, spoke on a PSM program, stating that he does not believe holding elections frequently is the best approach for an archipelagic nation like the Maldives.
"Based on my experience, what I can say is that if the presidential election, the parliamentary election, and even the local council election, if all these elections could be held on one day, it would bring immense benefits to the country," said Shihab, who has held senior positions in two previous MDP administrations.
He noted that beyond the direct expenditure incurred by the state to hold an election, there are numerous indirect costs. In this regard, he highlighted the police who maintain security and relevant independent institutions.
Furthermore, Shihab stated that political parties competing in elections would save many times over on costs related to holding primaries and campaigning.
"Every party has to spend very large amounts. Some parties will first hold internal primaries by presenting candidates. Based on the results obtained from those, they have to present candidates," Shihab said.
He noted that a party has to spend to elect each of those candidates. He also mentioned that presidential elections are currently held under circumstances where parties must incur similar expenses.
"I believe that if the elections can be combined, those parties can save a very large amount of money. The Maldives is spread across many islands. In addition to the approximately 180 inhabited islands, there are resorts. Conducting campaigns and doing these things in all these places is a very heavy burden for the parties too," Shihab said.
While the main opposition MDP has come out against holding the presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day, their biggest concern is the claim that it restricts a power directly granted to the people under the Constitution.
However, according to Shihab, while the Constitution does not specify that elections must be held on separate days, if the President and members of Parliament are elected by the people's vote, even if on the same day, there is no room for the people's power to be restricted.
While there has been a culture in recent elections where, following a presidential election, the people grant the parliamentary majority to the party of the sitting president, Shihab stated that holding both elections on the same day would increase the chance of prioritizing the election of capable individuals rather than simply giving the President a parliamentary majority.
"Members of Parliament would also compete in a free and fair manner without knowing who will become the President. What happens in the other system is that we already know, and the Maldivian people also know, which individual from which party is currently the leader," he said.
"Therefore, when we decide on members of parliament, what happens is the people tend more towards giving that large majority to the party of the person who is the President."
Given that the number of people turning out to vote in other elections does not even come close to the turnout for presidential elections, Shihab stated that if elections are held on the same day, the turnout would increase because of the greater weight and importance of the vote.
