Law change required to delay parliamentary polls post-Ramadan, EC chief says
According to Fuad, the only day during Ramadan that will require so much work will be the voting day itself, as is planned now.
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Elections Commission (EC) President Fuad Thaufeeg has said that it is not possible to hold parliamentary elections outside Ramadan until the law is changed.
Fuad said this while talking about the preparations for the parliamentary elections on PSM's 'Raajje Miadhu' program last Friday evening.
The Election Commission has fixed March 17 for the parliamentary elections. It will be the 7th day of Ramadan.
Political parties and the public are also expressing concern that it will be difficult to hold elections during Ramadan.
Fuad said the parliamentary elections were scheduled to be held on that date as the parliamentary elections could only be held during the fasting month within the time limit stipulated in the law. He said that even if elections are held during the fasting month, he has taken care to ensure that people do not face difficulty.
Explaining it, Fuad noted:
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Most of the laws are based on the Gregorian calendar; that is why the parliamentary elections coincided with the month of Ramadan this year
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According to the law, parliamentary elections must be announced 120 days before the end of the current parliamentary term
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This means that the election will be announced on January 30, at the earliest
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With the law as it is, there is no room for announcing it or holding it any sooner
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The matter was consulted with the Parliament and the Committee on Independent Institutions for advice
"Mostly they were talking about whether to postpone the election. When we try to postpone it, there are very big problems," he said.
He pointed out that:
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The government has declared the last ten days of Ramadan as public holidays. With the end of Ramadan comes the Eid holidays
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Then come the examinations of all the schools; there will be no schools to set up polling stations during that time
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When the exams are over, it will be too late; because the law requires all elections to be completed 30 days before the end of the parliamentary term
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There are 90 days alloted to conclude all poll activities from the announcement of the parliamentary elections on January 30
"Therefore, there is no way for us to do this without changing the law. Then many people in parliament do not believe in changing the law," Fuad said.
Fuad also mentioned some ways in which the law could be changed. They include:
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Change the election duration from 120 days to 140 days; Then the election will be announced around January 10 and the parliamentary elections will be held before the start of Ramadan
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Another option is to change the requirement of electing new members of parliament to one week ahead instead of one month to the former sets’ term expiration; then time is also gained
“If any of these laws are not changed, then we will be able to hold [the parliamentary elections] only on Ramadan 7 [March 17],” he said.
He noted that although the election had to be held during Ramadan, it was done after thinking of the most convenient way for everyone. Thus, he pointed out:
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The election was not held at the end of Ramadan because it coincides with the last ten days
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Even if the election is held at the end of Ramadan, training will have to be conducted during most of Ramadan; although the government has closed the last ten days, the EC staff will not have any leave
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If we vote on March 17, officials’ training can be completed before the start of Ramadan; then the only day to work hard during Ramadan will be voting day
With the Election Commission deciding to hold the parliamentary elections in early Ramadan, the opposition MDP accused the EC of being influenced by the government. The party noted that:
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The parties and independent institutions that attended the meeting of the National Advisory Committee on Elections also advised not to hold the elections during the month of Ramadan because it would be difficult
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However, the commission has fixed the date against the advice of all those who attended the meeting
The ruling main parties PNC and PPM did not attend the meeting.
The MDP and former President Abdullah Yameen have also expressed concern over the date of the polls and asked the EC to postpone the polls until after Ramadan.
