Parliament has rejected a proposal to limit the number of MPs to 76.
An amendment to article 71 of the constitution to cap the number of MPs at 76 was proposed on behalf of The Democrats by Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb. The amendment was proposed under the party's parliamentary policies.
Only 12 MPs voted to pass the amendment and 38 MPs voted against it.
The People's Majlis currently has 87 MPs, which is one MP for every 5,000 citizens.
Six new constituencies will be added for next year's parliamentary elections, the Elections Commission (EC) has revealed.
The amendment also proposed changes to Parliament's composition, including 55 MPs for administrative districts and eight female MPs to represent all constituencies.
In addition, two MPs to represent persons with disabilities and 11 MPs appointed by political parties based on the proportion of votes were also proposed in the constitutional amendment.
The main reason stated by Ilyas for submitting the amendment bill was the increasing expenditure on Parliament from the state budget due to the increasing number of MPs.
