President ratifies bill to grant Thinadhoo city status

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has ratified a bill to amend Article 51 of the Decentralization Act – designed to remove legal obstacles to designating the local council of GDh. Thinadhoo as a city council, following the decision to designate the populous southern island as a city.

The decision to designate Thinadhoo as Maldives’ fifth city was made by former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on August 30, 2023.

However, Thinadhoo faced legal obstacles in designating the local council as a city council, prompting the Thinadhoo Council to ask the Parliament for assistance in determining its legal status.

The Parliament’s Decentralization Committee decided to amend Article 51 of the Decentralization Act in order to eliminate the legal obstacles to designating the council in Thinadhoo as a city council.

Following the decision, Thulhaadhoo MP Hisaan Hussain submitted amendments to clauses (b), (c), (d), (e), and (g) of Article 51. The bill passed with a vote of 42 on March 18.

The bill states that if a proposal is made to designate an island as a city with less than one year left until the end of the term of the incumbent council, then the city status will be granted after a new council is elected.

However, if there is more than one year left until the end of the term of the incumbent council, then the island will be designated as a city and the council will receive the status of a city council.

Article 51 (d) states that if a local council receives the status of a city council, then the council’s president and vice president become the mayor and deputy mayor, respectively.

The councils composed in accordance with the amendment will last until the end of the council’s term.