MDP National Congress to meet over proposal to hold two elections concurrently
While the government has decided to hold a public referendum before ratifying the amendment, the President's Office confirmed the vote will coincide with the local council elections in April 2026, and the Elections Commission has already opened the re-registration process for voters.
A file photo from a meeting of the MDP National Congress. | MDP | MDP
The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has scheduled a National Congress meeting for Thursday night to determine its official stance on the proposal to hold two elections concurrently.
The MDP has announced that the 32nd meeting of the National Congress's fourth session is scheduled for Thursday night at 10:00 p.m. at Function 5. The meeting is set to gather the views and consultations of council members regarding the proposal to consolidate two elections. Furthermore, a formal decision will be reached during the session on the course of action to be taken concerning the unification of these elections.
This marks the first meeting held by the MDP regarding the constitutional amendment aimed at synchronizing the two elections and shortening the term of the 21st Parliament. Previously, when the Parliament’s Committee on Independent Institutions reviewed the matter, all political parties were invited to participate. However, the MDP walked out of that committee session, citing a lack of sufficient time to review the bill and the sudden nature of the summons, which prevented the party from conducting internal deliberations to reach a formal decision.
The Parliament passed the bill for the 8th Amendment to the Constitution, aimed at synchronizing presidential and parliamentary elections, during the second sitting of the first session of 2026, held on February 10.
However, it has been decided that a public referendum will be held to seek the opinion of the citizens before the bill is ratified. In this regard, the President's Office stated that according to Presidential Decree No. 2/2026 (Public Referendum on the Bill to Amend the Constitution of the Republic of Maldives for the 8th Time), the question to be posed to the public is: "Do you favor the President ratifying the 'Bill to Amend the Constitution for the 8th Time' passed by the People's Majlis, which seeks to hold presidential and parliamentary elections concurrently and define the procedure for calculating the term of the People's Majlis?"
According to the Presidential Decree, the date scheduled for the public referendum coincides with the upcoming "Local Council and Women's Development Committee Elections 2026," which the Elections Commission has announced will be held on Saturday, April 4, 2026.
Following this, the Elections Commission has officially announced the referendum and opened the window for re-registration.
