Suood says referendum question violates constitution

Former Supreme Court Justice Husnu Suood on Monday said the question proposed for the referendum on holding presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day does not comply with the Constitution.

Parliament, where the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) holds a majority, recently passed an amendment to the Constitution to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day. The amendment also sets the current parliamentary term to end on 1 December 2028.

Under the Constitution, any amendment that changes the term of parliament must be approved by a majority of voters in a public referendum.

President Mohamed Muizzu issued a decree on 16 February to hold the referendum on 4 April. The vote will take place on the same day as the local council elections.

The question proposed for the referendum asks whether the president should approve the amendment passed by parliament to hold presidential and parliamentary elections together and to define the rules for calculating the parliamentary term.

In a post on X, Suood referred to Article 262 of the Constitution, which states that amendments affecting the term of parliament must receive approval from the public.

He said the recently passed amendment shortens the term of the current parliament and therefore must be presented clearly to voters.

According to Suood, the question proposed in the presidential decree does not directly ask whether the public agrees to shorten the term of the current parliament.

Instead, he said the question refers to whether the president should approve the amendment relating to elections and the calculation of the parliamentary term.

Suood said the Constitution requires voters to decide specifically whether the parliamentary term should be shortened.

“The question now designed to disguise to the people that the term of the current Parliament is being shortened is not framed within the framework of Article 262 of the Constitution,” he said.

Suood also said the bill contains provisions that should not be included in a referendum conducted under Article 262.

He added that the wording of the question makes it unclear what voters are being asked to decide.

“Therefore, it does not appear that a question-based vote can have any validity other than as required by the Constitution,” Suood said.

Suood resigned from the judiciary last year after he was suspended while hearing a case at the Supreme Court related to a constitutional amendment.