Day of presidential address no longer a public holiday

President’s Office says that the day the president delivers the annual address to the Parliament will no longer be a public holiday.

The decision was made by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu via a presidential decree on Thursday.

It comes with President Muizzu, who took office in November last year, set to deliver his first address to the Parliament on February 5.

Addressing the inaugural sitting of the Parliament this year, President Muizzu will share his administration’s assessment of the current situation of the country, and his plans to address issues and develop the country.

The Parliament had gone into recess in December without taking its vote on the President Muizzu’s Cabinet – marking the first time for the Parliament to go into recess without approving a new Cabinet.

President Muizzu made a formal request for the approval of his Cabinet on November 20, two days after the new administration took office.

The Parliament had been scheduled to vote on the Cabinet on December 18, but the original committee report was sent back to the Government Oversight Committee, after Speaker Mohamed Aslam decided the report was incomplete, and because the committee hadn’t approved the mandate for government ministries.

The committee held a meeting on December 30 to approve the Cabinet. However, it still requires a floor vote.

The delay in approval for the new Cabinet had sparked criticism against the MDP – which holds a majority in the Parliament.

Following backlash, MDP initiated the process of gathering signatures to hold an extraordinary sitting to hold the crucial vote. But no date has been announced yet.