MDP heads to court to halt elections merger referendum

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) say they plan to file a court case on Tuesday to halt the move to hold a referendum on April 4, on conducting future presidential and parliamentary elections concurrently.

On February 10, the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) used its supermajority in the Parliament to pass constitutional amendments proposed by the government to hold future presidential elections and parliamentary elections on the same day.

On February 16, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu decreed that a public referendum on this – as required by law on such matters – would be held on April 4 – the same day as the local council elections.

At a press conference by the MDP on Tuesday, former Hoarafushi MP Ahmed Saleem said that the MDP’s national council has voted to reject the referendum, and selected an action group or taskforce to work on this.

Kendhoo MP Ahmed Mauroof, the spokesperson for the group, alleged that the referendum is part of the PNC administration’s plan to establish a dictatorship in the Maldives.

“We cannot agree to merging the elections, to muddling the electoral system, to end the right to vote the Maldivian people have been exercising until now, and to leave this country and its sovereignty in the hands of one individual,” he said.

Mauroof said that the MDP will not allow President Muizzu the chance to turn the rights of the people “on its head”.

Mauroof said President Muizzu’s February 16 decree is unconstitutional, and that the MDP will be filing a court case on Tuesday to declare it invalid.

He said that the party is also seeking a stay order to halt the upcoming referendum, due to high risk of “irrevocable damage.”

While the MDP seeks to half the referendum, the Elections Commission (EC) is rushing to make preparations to hold it on the same day as the local council elections.

Under the current system, voters go to polls twice within around six months every five years, electing the president in September and members of Parliament in April.

But the constitutional amendments passed by the Parliament proposes merging the two elections, and bringing forward the start of the parliamentary term from May to December 1 to get this done.

This change will shorten the five-year term of the current parliamentary assembly, sworn in on May 28, 2024, by around six months.

The first combined poll would take place in 2028.

President Muizzu first announced plans introduce constitutional amendments to combine the two major elections back in 2024. He promoted it as a cost-cutting measure that will save around MVR 120 million in expenses.

However, the opposition is largely opposed to such a move. While former President Mohamed Nasheed has said he is in favor of combining the two elections, others within the main opposition MDP, including former chairperson Fayyaz Ismail and former Maldivian Vice President Faisal Naseem, as well as former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who leads the People’s National Front (PNF), have publicly expressed opposition to the move.