Parliament Speaker Qasim Ibrahim has decided to reconvene parliament sittings on February 25. The decision was made at a meeting held with the parliamentary group leaders.
The speaker decided to hold meetings on February 25, believing the renovation of the parliament building will be completed by then, according to the Parliament Secretariat.
The parliament cycle for the year was inaugurated on February 7. However, no further sittings were held during the first week.
Delivering the Presidential Address, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih highlighted the amendments submitted for a number of laws by the administration, as part of the ongoing efforts to rectify the constitutional framework of the state. In this regard, the president underlined a bill has been submitted to criminalise unlawful acquisition of wealth, which has been designed by the administration to raise the penalties for senior state officials implicated in such cases. He further reiterated there will be no opportunity for corruption within the administration and reassured the administration firmly abides by a policy of zero-tolerance to corruption.
While the parliament cycle is conducted in three terms every calendar year, the first term will be from February through April. The current term will be the last term of the 18th parliament cycle.
The 19th parliament cycle will commence in June following the parliamentary elections in April.