The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has asked the Parliament to stretch the required period to hold referendums to 120 days as it conducts a legislative review of a measure that seeks to codify the nation's referendum procedures.
The draft bill, submitted to Parliament last week, stipulates that the ECM must organise a referendum between 45 to 90 days after receiving a resolution from either Parliament or the President.
ECM officials during the Parliamentary Independent Institutions committee tasked with the legislative review, expressed concern over the short time frame for voter registration and public awareness.
ECM President Mohamed Zahid admitted the importance of a separate legislation on referendums, however he insisted that the commission needs time to inform, raise awareness and make the public understand the respective referendum question before a vote is taken.
Zahid pointed out that the exact date of the current elections is known in advance, giving ECM ample time to prepare for the polls. However, he said the maximum 90 days is not nearly enough time to complete the entire voting process, especially to raise public awareness, urging the Parliament to stretch the period stipulated in the bill to 120 days.
“Its more of making people understand the referendum question in order for them to make an informed decision rather than an administrative issue. So I think it will be very good to give it about 120 days like most other elections as it looks like more time will be needed to adequately inform the public," he explained.
Zahid insisted that ECM would facilitate an election if mandated by law, but urged the Parliament to consider the difficulties faced in financing and recruitment of elections officials.
As a solution, he recommended that to include a provision in the law that mandates the State to allocate the budget within a certain period from the date the ECM receives the resolution to hold a referendum.