EC says at least 28 days needed for govt system referendum

A public referendum on the system of governance in Maldives as proposed by The Democrats can only be held if the Elections Commission gives the public at least 28 days, vice-president Ismail Habeeb said on Sunday.

The Democrats, who came third in the first round of the presidential election held on September 9, are in talks with other parties to hold a referendum to change the system of government to a parliamentary system. The vote is already being discussed with the MDP. The Democrats' talks with the PPM have come to a halt.

In an interview with Atoll Times, Habeeb said that the details of the referendum have not been officially submitted to the commission yet. Therefore, the first decision on the referendum will be taken after the matter is formally submitted to the commission, he said.

[This month] on the 25th, for example, if [the proposal] comes to the commission and what the commission would decide, I don't know what to say. But [the proposal] has not reached the commission yet”.

Habeeb said every kind of vote has a purpose and is usually given 28 or 30 days to achieve that purpose. Habeeb said:

"In other words, if any kind of vote is held, there will be a purpose for holding the election. If the purpose is to hold a referendum on the governance system, for example, people will have to be aware of what that is."

“According to the General Elections Act, it should be given 28 days, about 30 days,” Habeeb said.

He also said that the law requires 45 days for registration when any vote is held. He said that during those 45 days:

Habeeb said the commission would follow the rules of elections regardless of the kind of vote. Habeeb said that if an election is held on September 25 as proposed by The Democrats, it will not be held in accordance with the General Election Act.