President Dr. Mohamed Muizza said the elections will be held on March 17th, despite the Election Act being amended to allow postponement of elections organized by the Elections Commission (EC).
The opposing party, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), holds a majority in Parliament and introduced amendments to the Election Act to push elections back after the month of Ramadan. According to the amendment, it would be held on April 20th, but its ratification is still pending.
According to the constitution, a bill is required to be submitted for ratification within a week of being passed in parliament and ratified within fifteen days. The bill is set to expire if the country’s parliament does not ratify it by next week.
However, the EC is preparing to hold the elections next month in the first week of Ramadan. The President, Mohamed Muizzu, embarked on a tour of the country’s various atolls, where he said the government has no plans to postpone the elections despite them occurring during Ramadan.
Muizzu said during a political rally on the Gaafu Alifu atoll Gemanafushi that the opposition will not cooperate with his government if they receive most of the seats in the upcoming elections.
