The Parliamentary General Purpose Committee on Thursday endorsed an amendment to the Parliament rules of procedure seeking to revise the sessions of the Parliament.
The amendment to rules of procedure was proposed by South- Maafannu MP Abdulla Rifau.
The proposed amendment to the rules of procedure seeks to revise the duration of the three sessions each year.
According to Rifau’s amendment, the first session of the Parliament will run from January 1 to the end of that month and the second session will run from April 1 to the end of July. The third term of the year will run from September 1 to until the end of November.
The amendment has also accounted for the first session of this year as the Parliament has been in session since 6 February. So the current session will continue until the end of February for this year, according to the amendment.
The amendment to significantly shorten the first session of Parliament comes ahead of the Holy month of Ramadan which is set to begin on 1 March. This means, the Parliament will be in recess for the entire month of Ramadan starting this year until the year 2029.
According to the current rules of procedure, the first session of the year will run from 1 February until the end of May. The second term will run from 1 June to 15 August and the third term will run from 1 October until the end of November.
The amendment was passed by the majority of lawmakers during the committee sit-down on Thursday. The change will not adversely affect or limit the functioning of the Parliament, committee members had assured.
The amendment will now move to the floor and must be passed by the majority.