An emergency motion has been submitted to the parliament today urging the government to hasten the ratification of the bill that brought amendments to the Election Act which in turn would delay the upcoming Parliamentary Elections.
The motion was submitted by the MP for Ungoofaaru Constituency Mohamed Waheed. In the motion, MP Waheed stated that the amendment to the elections bill was passed by the parliament on the 11th of this month and sent for ratification to the office of President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu the following day.
It stated that it has been more than a week since the passed bill was sent to the President's Office and that the President has yet to ratify the bill.
Waheed also stated that while the bill is yet to be ratified, speaking at a rally in Addu City on Monday, the President stated that the Parliamentary Elections would be held on the current date of 17th March.
Noting that the President holds the power to send the approved bill back to the parliament under the constitution, the President is delaying the ratification to hold the election on the 17th of March.
The MP said that all the represented parties approved the bill that would allow for the Elections Commission to hold the Parliamentary Elections 10 days after Ramadan and that it was passed to find a solution to the grievances expressed by the public.
He added that because of the delay in ratification, the public is confused about the official date of the election and called on the government to ratify the bill as soon as possible.
