Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s parliamentary group has approved the government’s proposal to amend the constitution to prolong the terms of councilors.

The main ruling party’s parliamentary group voted on this at a meeting held on Tuesday night. 43 MPs voted in favour of this, while nine voted against and there were four abstentions.

The government sponsored bill was proposed by Bilehdhoo constituency MP Ahmed Haleem, and seeks to prolong the terms of existing councilors until the local council elections can be held. The elections had to be postponed due to the Covid-19 crisis.

The councilors terms can only be extended after amending the constitution, as Article 231 (c) states that the ‘terms of councils elected to administer the constituencies shall not exceed three years.’ The terms of existing councilors will expire on June 3.

A sitting was held at the parliamentary building on Tuesday after about two months of virtual sitting following the pandemic, for the debate on the constitutional amendment.

While a number of MPs spoke against the amendment, parliament’s Counselor-General Fathmath Filza as well as Attorney General Ibrahim Riffath have both stated that the terms of councilors can only be extended after amending the constitution.

Those who spoke against the amendment noted that it is not the most appropriate to do so given the state of public health emergency declared across the country.

The Local Council Elections were to be held on April 4, but voting was delayed indefinitely as the country's Covid-19 situation worsened.