Amendments proposed by the government to the Decentralization Act to mandate for local council and women’s development committee by-elections to be held if more than one-and-a half years is left in the term of members has been accepted into the Parliament for review.
The bill, sponsored by Hoarafushi MP Ali Moosa, a politician from the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), was accepted into the Parliament for consideration with a majority vote of 58-9 on Tuesday. The dissenting votes came from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
The bill, which proposes amendments to articles 15, 29, 45, and 6-56 of the Decentralization Act, has been sent to the Decentralization Committee for review.
At present, a by-election is not mandatory if a council or WDC member has 365 days or less remaining in their term. The proposed bill seeks to extend this threshold to 548 days.
According to Ali Moosa, the amendments seek to address the high cost associated with having to hold frequent by-elections due to high resignations among councils and WDCs.
MDP parliamentarians had criticized the bill during the preliminary debate earlier on Tuesday, suggesting that the government should focus on reducing the number of unnecessary political appointments instead of playing with councils if it wants to cut costs.
Responding to the criticism, Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falah, the leader of PNC’s parliamentary group, said that three councilors are enough for councils to operate, and that holding a by-election as soon as a seat in a five-member council becomes vacant is completely unnecessary.
The current term of local councils is set to expire in May next year.
A total of MVR 2.15 billion has been allocated as block grants for councils this year.