Lawmakers pictured during a parliament sitting. PHOTO/PARLIAMENT SECRETARIAT
President Yameen Abdul Gayoom will kick off the parliament sittings for the year 2017 with the presidential address on February 6.
A lawmaker has confirmed that the parliament’s administration has settled on the year’s first meeting.
The parliament sittings will be conducted in three sessions with the first session to be helddare  from February till April. The regulation states that the first meeting should be held on the Monday or Thursday that follows the date of commencement.
The presidential address should also be given during the first sitting of the initial session. According to the 84th subject of the Constitution, the presidential address should emphasize the current national state and steps necessary to advance it.
The parliament had passed several bills and brought several amendments to the Constitution last year, which were widely criticised as depriving the people of their rights.
However, pro-government lawmakers assert that those bills and amendments secure more rights of the citizens.