7 council seats allocated for every island with a population over 3000
Separate council seats allocated to Maradhoo-Feydhoo and Meedhoo.
President Solih holding a meeting
The recently approved bill on amendments to the Decentralisation Act has allocated seven seats for every council in islands with a population of over 3000 people.
During Thursday's parliament sitting, the members of parliament made a total of 11 revisions to the draft of the bill approved by the parliament's committee.
The bill was passed, including the revisions, with a total of 76 votes.
Notable amendments include reducing the number of council seats in islands with a population of fewer than 3000 people to only five seats.
Moreover, the proposed changes to the law also include reserving 33 percent of council seats to female candidates.
As such, councils with a total of five seats must have two female councilors whereas councils with seven seats are required to fill at least three seats with women.
While the committee's report on the bill states that the Local Government Authority (LGA) can take action against councilors, the bill presented to the parliament floor, however, states that LGA has the jurisdiction to take action against councilors with disciplinary issues.
Furthermore, the bill added separate council seats to Maradhoo-Feydhoo and Meedhoo.
The bill was drafted in accordance with the government’s vision of "Jazeera Raajje" to strengthen the country’s decentralization system by granting better access to resources to ensure regional sustainable development and empowering local councils.
