Democrats submit amendment to shrink parliament, set quota for women

The Democrats, the minority party in the parliament, introduced a bill on Tuesday to amend the constitution to reduce the number of MPs to 76, introduce a cap and reserve eight of the seats for women.

The bill, which was introduced by the party's presidential candidate Ilyas Labeeb, was announced at a press conference held at the parliament secretariat. Parliament is currently in recess after the second term of the year. The third term will resume on August 16. 

At the press conference, Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas said that the Democrats decided to introduce the bill even though they are not in power because it is something that the party can do at the moment. He said that he would try to get support for the bill in consultation with other political parties and the people.

"I think we can do this even if we are not in the government," Ilyas said.

"And after the submission, I will lobby for this with other parties and with the people of other constituencies."

Ilyas said that he would also propose amendments to the Election Act once the constitution is amended.

The Democrats' policy proposes major changes to the composition of the parliament. They include:

The Democrats' proposal to reserve eight seats for women in parliament is significant, as women make up about 50% of the population. The party proposes to limit the number of parliamentary seats to 76, with 10% reserved for women. Currently, there are only four women MPs in parliament.