Parliament passes bills on council by-elections twice yearly
The two bills were passed with the support of 67 MPs.
Parliament on Wednesday passed two bills proposed by the government to amend the law to hold by-elections for city, atoll and island councils twice a year instead of close together.
Current law requires a council by-election to be held within two months of a vacancy. Therefore, many by-elections require it to be held close to one another.
The first reading of the two bills, which proposed separate amendments to the Decentralisation Act and the Council Election Act, was heard in parliament late last month.
The two bills were passed with the support of 67 MPs. Eight members of the opposition MDP voted against it.
The bill to amend the Decentralisation Act, moved by PNC MP Ismail Shafeeu on behalf of the government, states as the reason for the amendment:
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Elections must be held within two months of a councillor's vacancy, resulting in a large number of repeated by-elections due to the increase in vacancies during the life of councils
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This increases the costs involved
To reduce the costs, the bill requires elections to be held within a maximum of 183 days or six months after a council seat becomes vacant.
However, the bill provides for elections to be held within a maximum of two months in the event of absence of the legal number of members in a local council.
The amendment will allow the Elections Commission to hold by-elections twice a year.
The bill, which is related to the amendment to the Decentralisation Act, was moved by PNC MP for Kaashidhoo constituency Munthazim Ibrahim, on behalf of the government.
In addition to harmonising the dates in the decentralisation bill, the bill also includes a minimum period between two by-elections. The minimum period between two by-elections is 120 days or four months.
With the amendment, one by-election will be followed by another by-election at the earliest, four months after.
As per the existing law, elections are not required to be held if a councillor has one year left in his term. A councillor elected through a by-election can hold the post for the remaining term of the council. These are also mentioned in these amendments.
The amendments will come into force from the date of passage of both bills and publication in the government gazette.
In the last 19th parliament, the law was amended to hold by-elections for women's committees once a year in response to the increasing number of by-elections.
