Parliamentarian Mohamed Abdulla Shafeeq has proposed an amendment to the Decentralisation Act to hold the local council elections and women’s development committee (WDC) elections once per year.
Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has expressed concern over having to hold back-to-back by-elections for local councils and WDCs. The Decentralisation Act states that by-elections are to be held within 60 days of a local council or a WDC member filing their resignation. In the amendment bill, Parliamentarian Shafeeq proposed to allow the ECM to hold an election within 365 days and that elections should not be held within 300-365 days from each other.
Parliamentarian Rozaina Adam earlier proposed an amendment to the Decentralisation Act to hold by-elections for WDCs on the same date each year. The proposed amendment to the Decentralisation Act states that WDC elections are to be held by the representative atoll council with instructions from the ECM. It also states that the by-elections are to be held on the same date each year if there are no issues related to the lack of quorum at WDC meetings. The amendment further proposes to expand the authority of WDCs by requiring local councils to implement their decisions and establishing an environment in which WDCs and local councils can work together. The proposed amendment is expected to solve the longstanding challenges faced by WDCs.
ECM stated the amendments will significantly reduce the state expenditure on holding back-to-back elections.