Mayors, Council Presidents to be elected by secret ballot

The government has proposed amendments to the Decentralization Act so that City council mayors, deputy mayors, Atoll council presidents, and vice presidents are elected through a secret ballot by the people.

The two bills containing the amendments were sent to the President’s Office by the Attorney General’s Office today to strengthen the decentralized administration systems of the country and bring the necessary changes to the law to empower local councils.

The bills include an amendment to Article 8 of the Constitution proposing secret ballots amongst the public to elect City council mayors, deputy mayors, Atoll council presidents, and vice presidents.

The amendments also recommended Atoll Councils to be formed of Island Council presidents so that all the islands in the atoll are represented equally. An amendment to increase the term of councils from three to five years is also included in the bills.

The Attorney General’s office stated that the purpose behind the amendments was to renew the powers and responsibilities repealed from local councils previously and allow the councils to run their functions properly represented by the people. In addition to this, these amendments would allow councils to provide easily accessible services to the people, according to the AG.