Elections Commission (EC) has said that they have yet to receive the budget to hold the by-elections for the 12 vacant seats.
EC Member Ahmed Akram told RaajjeMV that they have made the request at the finance ministry and will hold the by-elections as soon as they receive the finances.
RaajjeMV was unable to contact the finance ministry at the time of publishing.
While EC requested MVR 15 million from the finance ministry this year, the parliament passed a supplementary budget of MVR 26 million for the by-election in September last year. EC said that the amount had been returned to the finance ministry.
It has been nearly a year since EC dismissed 12 opposition MPs from parliament but article 78 of the Constitution states that a by-election has to be held 60 days after a seat becomes vacant.