Budget debate to wrap up on Mon with most parliamentarians disinterested in joining in

The preliminary parliamentary debate on the record-high MVR 64.2 billion budget for 2026 will wrap up on Monday, according to Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla.

During the sitting on Sunday, Abdul Raheem gave parliamentarians who wish to join the debate until 10:30 am to make their requests. But only a handful of parliamentarians asked to join the debate.

Only 27 out of 93 members of the Parliament have debated on the budget so far – making for just 29.03 percent of the legislative assembly.

This marks a significant shift from previous years, when almost all parliamentarians had joined in the debate, which stretched on for days.

The Budget Committee has set the deadline to complete its review of the budget to Wednesday.

The Finance Ministry on October 30 submitted a proposed budget of MVR 64.2 billion for 2026 – marking the highest annual budget on record. This high figure is mostly due to the staggering debt obligations due next year.

Key budget highlights:

• Budget total: MVR 64.2 billion
• Expenditure: MVR 49.2 billion
• Recurrent expenditure: MVR 39.9 billion
• Capital expenditure: MVR 9.3 billion
• Debt repayment: MVR 12.9 billion
• Revenue and grants: MVR 40.4 billion
• Budget deficit: MVR 8.8 billion (7.1 percent of GDP)

Presenting the budget, Finance Minister Moosa Zameer described next year’s budget as one that will save the Maldivian people from debt.

“It will have the Maldivian people from the huge debt this administration inherited, and will be the cornerstone to realizing President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu’s vision for development through careful policies without burdening the future generations,” he said, promising to implement measures to restore fiscal and debt sustainability.