Parliament passes bill to hold elections on same date without amendments

The bill proposing to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on the same date was passed by Parliament on Tuesday without amendments.

The bill was tabled while Parliament was in recess and referred to the Independent Institutions Committee on 5 January for review. The committee met on Monday for about five minutes and decided to approve the bill as proposed.

The bill was passed with 72 votes in favour. Abdul Raheem Abdullah also voted in support. The only vote against the bill was cast by Addu Meedhoo MP Abdul Rahman.

Five members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) were removed from the chamber before the vote due to protests. The remaining MDP members did not take part in the vote.

The Independent Institutions Committee, which reviewed the bill, summoned the Elections Commission, political parties and Attorney General Ahmed Usham for discussions. The bill was also opened for public comment, though it is unclear whether submissions were reviewed by the committee.

The government said the purpose of holding the two elections together is to reduce costs. It has said the bill will be ratified by President Mohamed Muizzu only after a public referendum.

The opposition MDP has raised concerns about the level of consultation prior to the bill’s passage.

Moved by PNC Parliamentary Group Leader and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falah, the bill proposes an amendment to Article 72 of the Constitution to require parliamentary elections to be held concurrently with presidential elections.

If the amendment comes into force, the 2028 presidential election and the 2029 parliamentary election would be held on the same date. The bill also proposes to shorten the current parliamentary term to end in December 2028.

During debate, Falah said the amendment would be implemented following a referendum to be held alongside the upcoming council elections.