Parliamentary election moved to April 21st

Elections Commission (EC), on Thursday night, has decided to hold the parliamentary elections delayed by President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s ratification of the bill to amend the General Elections Act on April 21^st.

The parliamentary elections was initially scheduled for March 17th – which falls within the first week of Ramadan. 

President Muizzu, at the advice of the Attorney General, ratified the bill which bans holding national elections during Ramadan. The ratification of the bill means the election can only be held 10 days after Ramadan ends.

EC convened for an emergency meeting following the ratification.

Sun has learned that the commission decided to move the election date to April 21^st during this meeting.

Parliament initially passed the bill on February 11. It was rejected by the president two weeks later, on Monday.

The same bill was passed again, with a majority vote of 47-14, on Wednesday afternoon.

According to the constitution, if the Parliament passes a bill that is rejected by the president for a second time without any amendments, and with a clear majority of the legislative body, the president is compelled to ratify the legislature.