MDP opposing joint elections over MPs’ salaries, says Falah
Local council elections are scheduled to be held on 4 April, alongside a referendum on merging presidential and parliamentary elections.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is opposing a proposal to shorten the current parliamentary term and hold presidential and parliamentary elections together because 12 of its members would not receive salaries for six months, Ibrahim Falah said on Monday.
Falah, who leads the parliamentary group of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), made the remarks while speaking at the opening of the PNC candidates’ Malé booth for the GDh. Thinadhoo council election.
Local council elections are scheduled to be held on 4 April, alongside a referendum on merging presidential and parliamentary elections. The MDP has been campaigning for voters to reject the bill passed by the PNC-majority parliament to facilitate the change.
Falah said there were benefits to holding the presidential and parliamentary elections together, including savings to the state budget. However, he said the MDP was opposed to the proposal because it would affect the salaries of its members of parliament.
“We are talking about hundreds of millions of MVR saved by the state and a portion of six months’ salary of 12 MDP members,” Falah said.
He said the MDP receives the second-largest allocation from the state budget after the PNC, but alleged that the party does not spend these funds on candidates contesting the upcoming council elections.
Falah further alleged that party funds were being used to pay salaries to MDP leaders. He said the MDP receives MVR 9 million, which he claimed is allocated to the party’s leadership.
“Each leader receives a monthly salary,” he said.
Falah said the MDP was not contesting a large number of council seats in the upcoming elections. He said the party was not fielding candidates for about 450 of the 1,352 council seats.
“The party has already lost about 30 per cent of the seats,” he said.
Falah also said the MDP’s position in the political landscape had weakened and suggested that its leaders should consider forming a new political party if they intend to continue their political activities.
