Committee endorses bill allowing area-specific referendums
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has previously outlined proposals for seeking public opinion through referendums.
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The Parliamentary Committee on Independent Institutions has approved the Public Referendum Bill, which allows referendums to be held among people of specific regions.
At its meeting on Tuesday, the committee passed eight amendments to the bill, though none altered its main provisions. One key change was the inclusion of a clause in Article 4 stating that a referendum may be held in a particular region if the President deems it necessary.
Other amendments included:
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Referendum results will be valid if more than 50 per cent of votes cast are in favour.
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Public awareness campaigns on the referendum question must be conducted 21 days before voting.
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The decision to hold a referendum will be made by a majority of MPs present and voting.
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Referendums must be held within 45 to 90 days of submission to the Elections Commission, though the timeline may be shortened if necessary.
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The Elections Commission must be provided with required funds within 10 days of a budget request.
All amendments were passed unanimously by the committee members present.
The bill was introduced in July by Ibrahim Falaah, Parliamentary Group Leader of the People’s National Congress (PNC) and MP for Inguraidhoo, on behalf of the government. It was passed at first reading with 62 votes in favour. The committee has set 30 October as the deadline to finalise its report.
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has previously outlined proposals for seeking public opinion through referendums. These include abolishing the second round of the presidential election, introducing preferential voting, holding presidential and parliamentary elections on the same date, and moving the presidential inauguration to November.
