President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has approved the amendment proposed to hold bi-elections to elect members for vacant seats, bi-annually. The amendments to the Decentralisation Act and the Local Council Elections Act were granted parliamentary approval bill in an assembly held on August 7.
Under the current Decentralisation Act, bi-elections must be conducted within 60 days following the vacancy of a local council seat. The amendment extends this period to 183 days. The amendments include modifications to the Local Council Elections Act, which specifies that the announcement for a bi-election that is to be held under Section 26-1 of this Act, shall be made within the duration stipulated in the regulation that is to be formulated by the Elections Commissions of the Maldives (ECM).
Through this amendment, a new section has been introduced, which stipulates the procedure for how by-elections will be held. As such, while bi-elections must be held twice a year, the amendment specifies that the interval between these two annual bi-elections should be no less than 120 days and no more than 183 days.
The approved amendment stipulates that the Local Government Authority (LGA) must inform the ECM within 14 days of a seat becoming vacant, with the bi-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 bi-election must occur within 30 days of the LGA's notification to the ECM. The approved bill also indicates that if a seat becomes vacant when the council has less than 365 days for its tenure to be completed, the election for a member is not mandatory.
Following the ratification of the 12th amendment to the Decentralisation Act and the seventh amendment to the Local Council Elections Act, the Acts are effective upon its publication in the Government Gazette. The government has now publicised the new amendments.