Parliament allocates 2 hours to debate petitions on council land bill

Parliament’s General Purpose Committee on Saturday night allocated two hours for floor debate on two opposing petitions concerning a proposed amendment to the Decentralisation Act that would allow the government to take over land and buildings under local council jurisdiction.

The committee decided to allocate one hour to each petition after both secured the number of signatures required for parliamentary debate.

The first petition, initiated by Midhuam Saud, founder of the NGO Aamunge Jamiyya, calls on parliament to reject the bill submitted by Thulhaadhoo MP Abdul Hannan Aboobakuru. It has received more than 2,300 signatures.

Under parliament’s e-petition rules, a petition that receives at least 2,100 signatures qualifies for priority consideration and debate on the floor.

A second petition was later submitted calling for parliament to pass the bill. The petition, which supports the government’s position on the amendment, has received 10,150 signatures.

With both petitions reaching the required threshold, the General Purpose Committee met on Saturday night to determine the procedure for debating them.

During the meeting, PNC MP for Holhudhoo Abdulla Sathar proposed allocating one hour to each petition.

Sathar also proposed distributing the debate time according to party representation in parliament, in line with Rule 110 of the Standing Orders.

Under the rule, one-quarter of the allocated debate time is distributed among political parties according to the number of members they hold in parliament, while the remainder is divided equally among MPs.

The proposal was seconded by PNC MP for Alifushi Abdul Latheef Abdul Raheem.

Four committee members voted in favour of the proposal, while one voted against. Five of the committee’s 11 members participated in the vote.

The counter-petition was submitted after parliament amended its Standing Orders to remove a provision that prevented more than one active petition from being submitted on the same issue.

The rule change was approved after the first petition opposing the Decentralisation Act amendment had already qualified for parliamentary consideration.

There have also been allegations that government employees were instructed to sign the second petition and obtain signatures from others.

The bill at the centre of the petitions seeks to amend the Decentralisation Act to expand the government’s authority to take over land and buildings under the jurisdiction of local councils.

The proposed changes come after the local council elections in April, in which the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party won majorities in city councils and several island councils.