President Dr Mohamed Muizzu ratified the Seventh Amendment to the Local Council Elections Act (Act No. 10/2012) on Sunday. The amendment was passed by Parliament on Wednesday, August 7, 2024, at the 25th sitting of its second session this year.
The amendments include modifications to Section 9(b) of the Local Council Elections Act, which specifies that the announcement for a by-election that is to be held under Section 26-1 of this Act shall be made within the duration stipulated in the regulation that is to be formulated by the Elections Commissions of the Maldives (ECM).
Through this amendment, a new section has been introduced, which stipulates the procedure for how by-elections will be held. In Section 26-1(a), it states that by-elections to fill vacancies in local council seats shall be conducted bi-annually. Furthermore, in sub-section (b), it specifies that the period between two such by-elections shall not be longer than 183 days or shorter than 120 days.
Following the ratification of the amendment, this Act becomes effective upon its publication in the Government Gazette.