The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has walked out of the committee meeting to discuss the bill to merge the parliamentary and presidential elections and shorten the term of the current parliament.
The MDP walked out of the meeting of the Independent Institutions Committee, which is studying the issue of merging the two elections, because it had not been given time to discuss the matter within the party.
MDP Vice President Hisaan Hussain told the committee that rushing the matter would not give the opportunity for discussion within the party and the general public would not be able to make an informed decision.
"So we believe that you have not really given the opportunity to consult with the parties and decide on this. And with that, you have not given the people the opportunity to make an informed decision. We want to tell you that we want to be excused as a party from this process," she said.
Noting that the MDP's decisions are not solely made by the party leader, Hisaan said decisions on such major issues are taken after extensive consultation within the party.
"We cannot decide on this kind of major matter of national interest unless the party committees, the national council, deliberates on it," she stated.
Hisaan said he does not understand why the parliament was trying to rush this matter by proposing such a major amendment to the constitution at a time when the parliament is on recess.
On Monday (February 2), the Elections Commission (EC) said the Constitution would have to be amended before February 18 to hold a referendum on merging the elections with the April 4 local council elections.
The EC said it was ready to hold the referendum during the local council elections and said the commission would need an additional MVR 20 million budget for this.
On January 4, the government proposed to amend the Constitution to merge the parliamentary and presidential elections and shorten the term of the current parliament.
