New bill in parliament requires referendum to change presidential term

A bill has been proposed to parliament seeking to require a public referendum prior to the amendment of a number of clauses in the Constitution, including the five-year presidential term and consecutive terms of the President.

Article 107 (a) of the Constitution states that the President shall hold office for a term of five years and no person elected as President shall serve for more than two terms in office, whether consecutive or otherwise.

The Vote on Common Consensus Bill proposed on behalf of the government by Nilandhoo MP Abdulla Khaleel also seeks to require a public referendum to amend Article 108 of the Constitution, which states that the President shall be elected directly by the people by universal and secret suffrage.

The bill further seeks to impose public referendums prior to ratification of amendments to the constitutional clause defining the term of the parliament, and for amendments to any clause under the Bill of Rights, Chapter 2 of the Constitution.

Article 79 of the Constitution states that, “The People’s Majlis shall continue for five years from the date of its first sitting, and shall then stand dissolved. The first sitting of the newly elected People’s Majlis shall be held immediately after the dissolution of the previous People’s Majlis.”

The Vote on Common Consensus Bill also gives the parliament the power to call for public referendums and vests the responsibility of conducting the referendums in the Elections Commission.