Addu council to shrink, Fuvahmulah to expand under proposed amendments
The government has stated since last year that it intends to revise the law to reduce council sizes to create a more cost-efficient system.
Top Stories
-
Complaint filed with JSC over judge’s remarks on defence lawyer
-
Court orders 5-day remand for MP Zakir over fishermen’s protest
-
Chinese firm awarded MVR 91.8M Hulhumalé road works contract
-
Malé mayor says council audit findings sent to ACC, police
-
Yameen accuses president of failing to deliver on promises
A bill submitted to Parliament on Sunday to amend the Decentralisation Act proposes changes that would reduce the number of councillors in several cities while increasing the number in Fuvahmulah. If passed without changes, the Addu City Council would be reduced from 13 to seven councillors, while Fuvahmulah City Council would increase from seven to nine councillors, including the mayor.
The government has stated since last year that it intends to revise the law to reduce council sizes to create a more cost-efficient system. The Elections Commission has scheduled local council elections for late March.
The amendment was introduced by PNC Parliamentary Group Leader and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falah. The bill proposes changes to the number of members in the Malé and Fuvahmulah councils.
Under Article 41 of the Decentralisation Act:
-
Cities with populations between 10,000 and 30,000 elect seven councillors.
-
Cities with populations between 30,000 and 60,000 elect 13 councillors.
-
Cities with populations above 60,000 elect 19 councillors.
The amendment does not alter these population thresholds but instead assigns fixed numbers of councillors to certain cities.
Malé City Council
The bill proposes that the number of Malé City councillors match the number of parliamentary constituencies assigned to Malé. The 20th Parliament will include 16 Malé constituencies, reducing the council from 19 members to 16. Malé has a registered population of around 83,800.
Fuvahmulah City Council
The government proposes a specific approach for Fuvahmulah, citing its designation as an administrative area comprising eight constituencies, each historically treated as a separate island.
The amendment proposes one councillor for each constituency. With the mayor included, Fuvahmulah City Council would have nine councillors, up from the current seven. Fuvahmulah has a registered population of around 13,800 and an estimated resident population of 9,000.
Addu City Council
Addu currently has 13 councillors, as required for cities with populations between 30,000 and 60,000. However, Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo were separated from Addu following a recent referendum.
According to Elections Commission data released on 16 November:
-
The registered population of Addu, including Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo, is 35,500.
-
Excluding those two islands, Addu’s population is 28,800.
Under the amendment, Addu would elect seven councillors, a reduction from the current 13.
Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo each have registered populations exceeding 3,000. Under the amendment, each would elect five councillors.
As a result, Addu, Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo combined would have 17 councillors—four more than the current Addu City Council’s total membership.
Kulhudhuffushi and Thinadhoo
Kulhudhuffushi (11,000 registered population) and Thinadhoo (around 10,450 registered population) fall within the 10,000–30,000 bracket. Both cities would continue to elect seven councillors under the amendment.
