President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said on Thursday that his administration will be submitting key bills to the Parliament this year, including legislative reforms designed to combine the presidential election and the parliamentary election.
In his annual address at the Parliament on Thursday morning, President Muizzu said his administration submitted 35 bills last year – bills that he said were designed to “improve the affairs of this nation.”
30 of these bills have been passed.
He named constitutional amendments to requires the approval of a three-quarters majority of the Parliament to make any modifications to Maldives territory, mandating parliamentary approval for the deployment of any foreign military personnel within Maldivian territory, as well as the inclusion of anti-defection provisions in the Constitution to prevent floor crossing as key bills the administration submitted last year.
“These amendments also include legislative changes to improve the country’s bail system as I promised, as well as legislative changes to combat fraud and cyber violence,” he said.
President Muizzu said his administration plans on submitting more key bills this year. This includes:
Legislative changes to change the composition of the Judicial Service Commission
Legislative changes to combine the presidential election and the parliamentary election
A bill to propose a referendum on reverting the start of the presidential term back to November 11
Legislative changes to cap the number of Parliament members
Legislative changes to the Anti-Corruption Commission Act, Penal Code and Criminal Procedure Code to combat corruption
An asset recovery bill
A housing bill
Maldives International Financial Services Authority bill
Before concluding his address, President Muizzu said he was committed to delivering his pledges and producing results.
“It is my delight, duty and responsibility to go to the people, listen to the people, and achieve success in reaching the targets the people want,” he said.