Parliamentary Committee on Judiciary has approved the amendment bill to the Public Health Protection Act to give the President the power to declare health emergencies.
The committee's report stated the President should have the power to declare health emergences in the country or parts of the country in case of a public health crisis. The amendment bill, submitted by Parliamentarian Mohamed Rasheed, states that, once the Director General of Public Health considers a situation a danger to public health, the Director is obligated to give the necessary information and recommendations to the Minister of Health, who will inform the President.
The committee report stated the purpose of the amendment bill is to transfer the power to declare a health emergency from the Minister to the President, since Article 253 of the Maldives Constitution already grants the President the power to declare states of emergency. The committee added an amendment to the bill, stating that if the cost of dealing with a public health crisis exceeds the allocated amount in the state budget, a request for more funding should be submitted to the parliament.
Ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and party representatives in the Parliament have voiced concern over the Minister of Health having the power to declare a health emergency over the COVID-19 pandemic.