News Desk
Deputy Speaker of the Majlis Ahmed Nazim has accused the opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) of pretending to forget that it once supported holding the presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day.
Speaking at the opening of the PNC campaign centre in the Machchangolhi South constituency tonight, Nazim said the MDP has been spreading false claims about the proposed referendum on holding both elections on the same day, despite previously backing the idea.
Nazim, who served in the Constitutional Assembly that drafted and ratified the current Constitution, said the Special Assembly had also debated the sequencing of elections.
“Yes, this was debated. After the collapse of the previous system, the Assembly discussed the dates of elections and a motion was submitted to hold the two elections together,” he said.
Nazim said the reason the two elections ended up on different dates must be properly understood. The adoption of the new Constitution required the creation of independent institutions, an independent Elections Commission, new laws and new constituencies. The time needed to draft and pass these laws resulted in the elections being held separately, he said.
He added that it was never the intention of the drafters of the Constitution to keep the two elections apart. The decision at the time was simply to hold the elections as soon as possible.
Nazim accused the MDP of misleading the public by claiming the government is trying to merge the two elections. He said the proposal is only to hold them on the same day, not to combine them into a single process.
Nazim said holding both elections on the same day would increase voter turnout and ensure that parliamentary candidates are elected with broader public support.
