Govt plans reserved seats for youth and women in parliament

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has announced plans to introduce legislative amendments to reserve a percentage of parliamentary seats for individuals under the age of 30 and for women.

The President made the statement on Monday during a press conference held at the President’s Office.

He said the proposed changes form part of a set of reforms to be introduced following a public referendum scheduled for 4 April. The referendum will seek public opinion on holding presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day.

The President stated that the submission of the amendments will depend on the outcome of the referendum. He added that the reforms will also address the number of seats in the People’s Majlis.

“As we propose amendments to curb the expansion of parliamentary seats, there are two areas under research for legislative change. One is to mandate that a percentage of parliament consists of youth under 30. Similarly, we are looking into designating a percentage of seats for women,” he said.

The President noted that there is currently no quota for youth or women in parliament.

He also outlined other reforms under consideration. These include amendments to conclude presidential elections in a single round and to revert the commencement date of the presidential term to 11 November.

Further proposals include legislative changes to strengthen the independence of institutions and measures related to the judiciary.

The President said that the implementation of these reforms will be based on the outcome of the referendum.

“Several of these changes are linked to the decision on whether both elections will be held on the same day,” he said.