Opposition makes fresh move to limit parliament seats
There are relatively few women contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Democrats have proposed an amendment to the Constitution to reduce the number of members of Parliament and increase the number of female candidates running for parliament.
The bill to amend Articles 71 and 72 of the Constitution was moved by the Democrats' Parliamentary Group (PG) leader, Central Henveiru MP Ali Azim.
Azim's bill would have the amendment come into force from the 21st parliament elected in 2029. The changes are not aimed at this year's parliamentary elections.
Azim moved Article 71 which describes the procedure for determining the number of members:
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1 member for every 6,000 and 12,000 people in the administrative districts
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2 members for total population of 12,000 and 18,000 from administrative districts
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3 members for total population of 18,000 and 24,000 in administrative districts
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4 members for a total population of 24,000 and 36,000 in the administrative districts
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5 members if the total population of the administrative constituencies exceeds 36,000
Article 71 of the Constitution requires one member to be elected for a population of 5,000 in each administrative constituency. However, if Azim's amendment is passed, a constituency will have a population of at least 6,000.
Administrative divisions are defined in the Constitution as the administrative division of rural areas into atolls. For example, Addu or the northern part of the country.
Increasing female candidates
Azim's amendment to Article 72 of the Constitution to encourage more female members of parliament would force political parties to nominate a certain number of women candidates. He proposed:
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Political parties should reserve one out of every 10 constituencies for female candidates; (for example, if a party has 80 candidates contesting the election, there must be at least eight women candidates)
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The details of the designation of female candidates should be included in the Political Parties Act
There are five female members in the current parliament. There are relatively few women contesting the upcoming parliamentary elections as well.
In addition, the number of members in parliament is increasing with each election. Amendments were also proposed in the current parliament to limit the number, but the bills have been dropped.
