New bill seeks to change age for qualification as president, vice president

A Bill on Amendment to the Constitution has been submitted to the parliament, to change the age under qualifications for election as president and vice president, to between 30 and 65.

The bill was submitted by Hoarafushi MP Mohamed Ismail.

Presently, there is no upper limit in terms of age for running for presidency. Article 109 of the Constitution states that a person elected as president shall be at least of 35 years of age.

As for the vice president, Article 112 states that the qualifications shall be the same as those for the president.

A similar bill was submitted by Mohamed Ismail before, where he proposed to cap the age at 65. The bill was later withdrawn.

If passed, this amendment means that former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Jumhooree Party (JP) Leader Gasim Ibrahim will no longer be able to run for presidency. Gayoom will turn 77 and Gasim 65 this year.