The Parliament of the Maldives has begun deliberations on the amendment proposed to the Constitution of the Maldives regarding extension of local council terms.
The amendment bill was proposed by Parliamentarian Ahmed Haleem, on behalf of the government. The bill states members of island councils, atoll councils and city councils will remain in office until new members can be elected.
The current term of local councils will expire on June 2. However, with the postponement of local council elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the government proposed an amendment to the constitution in order to allow incumbent councillors to remain in office until the elections can be held. The parliament has passed a special bill on local council elections, which states the latest date to hold the elections is January 6, 2021.
There have been differences in opinion among parliamentarians representing the ruling party Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) regarding amending the constitution. While the government has stated the terms of local councils cannot be extended without amending the constitution, some parliamentarians have expressed the opinion that the constitution cannot be amended while a state of emergency has been declared in the nation. However, Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath has stated the current state of emergency declared is not the State of Emergency stated under Clause 253 of the constitution and hence there are no legal obstructions in amending the constitution.