In a press conference held this afternoon at the President’s Office, President Mohamed Nasheed shared his views on the Decentralisation Bill and the Bill Local Council Elections, which were passed recently.
The President said he always sought the legal advice from the Attorney General on economic, social and legal ramifications, before ratifying any bill sent for ratification by the People’s Majlis.
He noted that there were several issues raised by the Attorney General on both bills.
Decentralisation Bill
President Nasheed said with the election of members to councils and other posts required for decentralisation being already late, further delaying a legal framework for a decentralised administration, as stipulated in Chapter 8 of the Constitution, “would not be the best course of action”.
Decentralisation Bill was passed by the People’s Majlis on 28 April 2010.
Noting that there were some legal and economic difficulties in implementing the legislation, President said amendments required to implement the Act had been proposed to the People’s Majlis through Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Monday.
Bill on Local Council Elections
The President today returned the Bill on Local Council Elections to the People’s Majlis for reconsideration.
At the press conference, the President said the bill could deprive a number of citizens from a very basic as it could disenfranchise those who were unable to be on their own islands on the voting day.
At today’s press conference the President also took questions from media. Besides the two bills, questions were focused on electricity subsidies, the new regulations under the “Religious Unity Act”, and on government’s intention to accept two people from Guantanamo Bay detainee centre.
