Amendments have been submitted to the existing legislation to hold by-elections biannually. The amendments to the Decentralisation Act and the Local Council Elections Act were submitted by Parliamentarian Ismail Shafeeu and Parliamentarian Muthasim Ibrahim.
Under the current Decentralisation Act, by-elections must be conducted within 60 days following the vacancy of a local council seat. The proposed amendment seeks to extend this period to 183 days. Parliamentarian Shafeeu noted that frequent vacancies have led to numerous by-elections within short intervals, thereby increasing state expenditure.
The proposed changes stipulate that the Local Government Authority (LGA) must inform the Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) within 14 days of a seat becoming vacant, with the by-election to be held within 183 days. If a vacancy results in a council lacking the necessary quorum for meetings, a new member must be elected within 60 days. However, if the vacancy pertains to a vice president or deputy mayor, the by-election must occur within 30 days of the LGA's notification to the ECM.
Meanwhile, the amendment proposed to the Local Council Elections Act indicates that by elections must be held twice a year. It specifies that the interval between these two annual by-elections should be no less than 120 days and no more than 183 days. The rule does not apply to vacancies of vice presidents and deputy mayors.
While these amendments have been proposed, by elections cannot be held within 365 days before the council's tenure is complete. Additionally, the members elected through the by elections will also serve until the tenure of the respective council is complete.