Parliament’s General Purpose Committee has approved a proposed change to the Standing Orders that would allow additional petitions to be submitted on a matter even when a petition concerning the same matter has already been filed.
Funadhoo Constituency Member of Parliament Mohamed Mamdooh proposed repealing a provision in Section 257-1 of Parliament’s Standing Orders. The proposal was referred to the General Purpose Committee for review.
Under the existing Standing Orders, a petition cannot seek an action that has already been requested through a petition previously submitted to Parliament.
The proposed change comes as a petition has been submitted seeking the withdrawal of an amendment to the Decentralisation Act proposed by Thulhaadhoo Constituency Member of Parliament Abdul Hannan Aboobakuru. A decision has also been made to submit another petition seeking to expedite the amendment.
However, the existing Standing Orders prevent another petition concerning the bill from being submitted while the current petition remains under consideration.
The General Purpose Committee approved the proposed amendment to the Standing Orders with the votes of seven members present at the meeting.