No by-election needed if council quorum met, Falah says

Leader of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) parliamentary group, Ibrahim Falah, has said that there is no need of holding a by-election for the remainder of a term if the quorum of the council is met.

Falah was speaking in Parliament on Tuesday on the government's proposed amendment to the Decentralization Act to hold by-elections twice a year instead of holding them several times a year.

Speaking in support of the bill, Falah said he believed the bill required further amending at the committee stage, to reduce by-elections for the remainder of a term.

"If the [council's] quorum is met, I support not holding an election. If three out of five councillors are there, the quorum of the council will have been met," Falah said.

Noting that according to the law, each island has at least five councillors, Falah said he will not support holding an election when one councillor's seat becomes vacant in a five-member council.

"Otherwise, if there are less than two councillors, I support holding elections within 60 days and reaching the quorum. But if there are three councillors, I strongly support not holding elections," he said.

Falah also supported the government's policies to reduce the number of councils. He said:

"If we propose this amendment [to reduce the number of councils], it will be changed again when the MDP comes to power. In fact, all solutions will become one solution when the MDP comes to power," he said.

The bill, which began debate on Tuesday, was passed by the Parliament. The bill has now been referred to the Decentralization Committee for consideration.