The Parliament’s Independent Institutions Committee today approved seeking the opinions of political parties and the Elections Commission (EC) regarding the government’s constitutional amendment bill to facilitate holding the presidential election and People’s Majlis election on the same date. This decision was made at today’s committee meeting.

The meeting decided not only to seek opinions from parties and the EC, but also scheduled a meeting with officials from the Attorney General’s Office next Monday to obtain legal advice on the bill. The proposal to seek input from political parties, EC, and the Attorney General’s Office was submitted by PNC member Ibrahim Shujau from Baarah constituency. Supporting his submission, Shujau stated that since the Maldives operates under a multi-party system, seeking parties’ opinions is important when introducing such a major change. He also noted that consulting with the Elections Commission on legal matters would be beneficial, as it is the body legally responsible for conducting elections.

Shujau’s proposal passed with the consensus of committee members. Additionally, according to committee chair and Maafushi constituency member Hussein Riza, some parties have already submitted opinions during the public consultation period opened for this amendment. The committee initially set a deadline of the 15th of this month to complete work on the bill. However, that deadline was not met, and this bill was introduced and work began during a special session held outside the parliamentary recess.