Question posed to public in referendum is currently framed in a way that conceals fact that it would shorten parliamentary term: Suood

Former Supreme Court Justice Husnu Al Suood has stated that the wording of the referendum question on holding presidential and parliamentary elections concurrently obscures the fact that it involves shortening the current parliamentary term.

According to Article 262 of the Constitution, any bill passed by the People’s Majlis to amend specific core provisions of the Constitution shall only be ratified by the President if it is first approved by a majority of citizens in a public referendum held to determine the people's consent to such changes.

Article 262(b)(2) of the Constitution stipulates that any bill passed by the People’s Majlis to amend the term of the legislature shall only be ratified by the President following a public referendum. Such an amendment may only come into effect if it receives the approval of a majority of those voting in the referendum.

Highlighting the matter, Suood stated that the People's Majlis passed a bill for the 8th Amendment to the Constitution, which includes provisions to shorten the term of the current parliament among other measures. He noted that the bill was forwarded to the President's Office for ratification on February 11, 2026, and that the President has since issued a decree to conduct a public referendum under Article 262 of the Constitution prior to the bill's ratification.

Suood stated that the resolution does not include a question for the referendum regarding whether the public consents to shortening the term of the current People’s Majlis. He further noted that the specific question proposed in the resolution for the referendum is: "Do you favor the President ratifying the Bill on the 8th Amendment to the Constitution?" Suood emphasized that this is not the appropriate question to be posed to the public under Article 262 of the Constitution.

Instead, Justice Husnu Al Suood stated that under Article 262 of the Constitution, the question that must be posed to the public is: "Since the Bill for the 8th Amendment to the Constitution includes a provision to shorten the term of the current People's Majlis to less than five years, do you favor shortening the term of the current People's Majlis?"

Suood stated that determining whether to ratify the bill in its current form is entirely distinct from the requirement under Article 262(b) of the Constitution to seek public consent for any changes to the term of the People’s Majlis.

Furthermore, Justice Suood stated that the question currently formulated to shorten the term of the sitting Parliament—while concealing this fact from the public—does not fall within the legal parameters defined by Article 262 of the Constitution.

Justice Husnu Al Suood noted that the bill includes several provisions that do not require a public referendum under Article 262 of the Constitution. He emphasized that matters which do not mandate such a vote cannot be submitted for a referendum under the provisions of that article.

Justice Suood further stated that he does not believe a vote conducted through a process other than that mandated by the Constitution can be considered valid.

Suood further noted that while the President has issued a decree to seek public opinion on ratifying the bill passed by the People’s Majlis, Article 4 of the bill, which references existing legislation, is not drafted in a manner that allows it to be incorporated into the Constitution. He questioned whether one part of the bill is intended to become a constitutional provision while the other remains ordinary law.

Furthermore, Justice Husnu Al Suood stated that if Article 4 of this bill were not part of the Constitution, the document would fail to specify the year in which the current People's Majlis term expires on December 1st. He added that the consequence of this would be the extension of the current parliamentary term until the end of May 2029.