The Parliament of Maldives has declared, unanimously, that the president-elect and the vice president-elect will take oath of office on November 17. The motion was passed by 63 members that took part in the vote.
In the committee report, it was noted the oath administered to President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom stated the date of the beginning of the five year term of incumbent President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom as November 17, 2013 and therefore that his term would end on November 17, 2018.
The Chair of the Committee and former Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid said a Supreme Court verdict issued during the time declared the presidency of the then incumbent President Mohamed Waheed Hassan would be extended, and the presidential term that begins on November 17, 2013, was a new term. Referring to the verdict, the parliamentary committee declared the president-elect and the vice president-elect should take oath of office on November 17, 2018.
At the first sitting of the third session, parliamentarians debated on the date on which the president-elect and the vice president-elect shall take oath of office, after which the majority of parliament voted to forward the matter to a seven-member committee for further review. The committee consisted of Parliamentarians Riyaz Rasheed, Hussain Mohamed, Mohamed Hussain, Abdulla Shahid, Rozaina Adam, Ali Arif and Ahmed Amir.
During the debate, some parliamentarians argued Article 301 subsection (b) of the Constitution of Maldives stated the president-elect shall take and subscribe the oath and assume office on November 11. However, some parliamentarians argued the article clearly states the date in which the president should take office in 2008 and that, as the provision comes under Chapter 14 of the constitution which details Transitional Matters, Article 301 (b) is irrelevant in considering a date in this instance.
Article 301 subsection (a) of the constitution states the first presidential election to be held before October 10, 2008. Article 301 subsection (b) of the constitution states the president elected in accordance shall take and subscribe the oath and assume office on November 11, 2008.
Thus, some parliamentarians argued in the elections that followed, one should consider the date, only after taking into account the full five-year term served by the respective president, regardless of the date on which the president was sworn-in.