President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has issued Presidential Decree No. 2/2026, declaring a public referendum to seek the views of the people on holding the Presidential and People’s Majlis elections together.
The proposed constitutional amendment, which provides for the Presidential and parliamentary elections to be conducted concurrently and stipulates the commencement date of the term of the People’s Majlis, was passed by the People’s Majlis on 10 February 2026 at the second sitting of its first session for 2026.
The amendments contained in the Bill fall within the category of constitutional changes which, under Article 262(b) of the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives and Section 5(a) of Act No. 2025/15 (Public Referendum Act), must be submitted to a public referendum prior to ratification by the President.
Article 262(b) of the Constitution provides that where a Bill seeking to amend the Constitution is passed by the People’s Majlis, the President shall ratify the Bill only if it is approved by a majority of votes cast in a public referendum held for that purpose. In addition, Section 31 of Law No. 2025/15 stipulates that where a majority of votes cast in the referendum are in favour of the amendment, the President must ratify the Bill and publish it in the Government Gazette within 15 (fifteen) days of the official announcement of the results. If the amendment fails to obtain a majority of votes, the Bill shall be deemed void.
As stated in Presidential Decree No. 2/2026 (Public Referendum on Holding Presidential and Parliamentary Elections Concurrently), the question to be put to the public is:
“Do you approve the ratification of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which provides for the Presidential and People’s Majlis elections to be held concurrently and for a change to the term of the People’s Majlis?”
The Decree further provides that the referendum will be held on Saturday, 4 April 2026, alongside the Local Council and Women’s Development Committee elections.
Following publication of Presidential Decree No. 2/2026, the Elections Commission has been mandated to make the necessary arrangements to conduct the referendum in accordance with the law.