Bill seeks to reinstate Atoll Councils: Referendum suggests rejection of the change

A bill has been submitted to the Parliament—where the ruling PNC holds a supermajority—seeking to reverse a recent constitutional amendment mandating the dissolution of Atoll Councils.

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu assumed office with pledges to reform the decentralization system, including the establishment of a dedicated ministry to strengthen council operations and the dissolution of Atoll Councils. The constitutional amendment providing for their dissolution was passed by Parliament on November 25 last year.

Under the amendment, Atoll Councils are to be dissolved upon the completion of their current term. The President ratified the amendment on December 1, meaning the present councils are set to be dissolved when their term expires on May 17.

The bill submitted on Tuesday by opposition MDP’s North Galolhu MP Mohamed Ibrahim (Kudoo), contends that the amendment was enacted at a time when the decentralization system—established in 2010—was still being developed.

According to the bill, dissolving Atoll Councils, which constitute a fundamental component of the system, undermines the constitutional framework for decentralization.

It further claims that the amendment was introduced based on the President’s personal views without sufficient research or analysis. Kudoo pointed to the results of a public opinion poll conducted on April 4 regarding the merger of the main two elections, in which 68.74 percent of participants voted contrary to the government’s position, as representation of dissent against the government.

"This result indicates that the public does not support changes to the state's administrative system based solely on the President’s personal views," the bill stated.

The bill also suggests that the poll outcome reflects broader public opposition to the legislation passed by Parliament to dissolve Atoll Councils. As such, it proposes a constitutional amendment to reinstate the Atoll Council and revert to previous administrative structure.

While Parliament had removed Atoll Councils from Article 231 of the Constitution, the new bill seeks to reintroduce them into the same provision.

The opposition MDP has previously criticized the dissolution, alleging that it would enable the government to appoint its own representatives to oversee atolls in place of elected officials. However, the President has maintained that the funds saved from dissolving Atoll Councils will be reallocated to Island Councils, thereby increasing their budgets.

In response to these changes, the Local Government Authority (LGA) has stated that responsibility for services previously managed by Atoll Councils has been transferred to the Authority, enabling it to establish regional offices within administrative divisions.

Nevertheless, the changes attracted legal scrutiny. Former Supreme Court Justice Husnu Al Suood has argued that transferring these responsibilities to the LGA is unconstitutional, stating that the Constitution does not permit administrative divisions to be governed by unelected bodies and that an act of Parliament cannot override this principle.