Election Commission (EC) said on Thursday they received the motion passed by the parliament on Tuesday to ask the people to vote to change the system of governance.
This motion by the parliament was passed to hold the election regarding system of governance on October 30.
“The commission is now seeking legal advice on how to proceed regarding this matter,” EC said on a post on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.
Giving further details, vice chief of EC Ismail Habeeb told Mihaaru News that the commission's members will discuss how to proceed with the resolution passed by the parliament after seeking legal opinion.
“The information we receive will be shared with the parliament as well,” Habeeb said.
EC has said that they would require a minimum of 45 to 30 days to prepare for an election, and it would need a budget of MVR 40 million.
Additionally, the commission said before such a vote is asked, it is important to increase awareness amongst the people on why the vote is being asked for.
The presidential system was established in Maldives after an election was held on August 18, 2007, asking the people to choose either the presidential or the parliamentary system of governance before the constitution was drafted. Out of the 149,380 Maldivians that cast their vote on that day, 62 percent voted for a presidential system.
A month long intense campaign was held right before the election that year. President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was in power at that time, had backed up the presidential system while former President Mohamed Nasheed had supported the parliamentary system.
Sign In