The People’s National Congress (PNC) administration has no plans of extending the presidential term and nor is it something President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu is the least bit in favor of, says Ibrahim Falah, the leader of the ruling party’s parliamentary group.
Speaking during the parliamentary debate on Monday morning on the committee report on the referendum bill, Falah rejected allegations the PNC is pushing to extend the presidential term beyond the current five years.
“We are trying to shorten the presidential term. And we are also working to have the parliamentary term shortened in the coming days,” he said.
Falah said that he was talking about the plan to combine the presidential election and the parliamentary election.
“The incumbent administration will not extend the presidential term. We will not support it. This is not something the President is the least bit in favor of,” he said.
The remarks follow recent comments by North Machangolhi MP Ibrahim Mohamed (Janab) in a TV interview, voicing support for extending Maldives’ presidential term “for the greater good”.
The remarks by Janab, the brother-in-law of President Muizzu, sparked uproar, as many people took to social media to voice their opposition to such a change.
The Maldivian constitutional declares the presidential term as five years. Changing this isn’t in the hands of the Parliament, where the PNC enjoys a supermajority, but requires a public referendum.