President-elect Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has stated that he will work to provide a special allowance to women who are elected to the Parliament to represent the coalition of the Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) and the People's National Congress (PNC).
In a tweet, President-elect Muizzu said he wants to see more women elected in the upcoming parliamentary election and called on female members of the PPM/PNC coalition to contest on their party's ticket. He expressed his wish to see women running for 20% of the seats, vowing to provide a special allowance if they are elected.
In an earlier statement, President-elect Muizzu said that his administration can only move forward efficiently with a majority, adding that he aims to win more than 60 seats in the election. He also expressed confidence that the new Parliament would have highly educated and highly regarded members with women elected to at least one-third of seats. He added that he would encourage more women to contest in the PPM/PNC primary election.
The parliamentary election will be held in April next year. Six new seats will also be added due to the change in local populations, increasing the current 87 seats to 93. The main ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), and the opposition PPM/PNC coalition have announced their intention to contest all seats in the election.