The People’s Majlis has passed the first amendment bill to the Local Council Elections Special Provisions act, allowing voting during a state of public health emergency.

The amendment was approved at the third extraordinary sitting, on Tuesday, with 38 of the 45 lawmakers present at the sitting voting in favour. Opposition MPs did not take part in the vote, and had instead resorted to protesting inside the chambers during the sitting as well as voting process, against the amendment.

The purpose of the government-endorsed amendment submitted by Hulhumale' constituency MP Ali Niyaz is to ensure that there are no further delays to the Local Council and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections.

While the first reading of the amendment was at the parliament’s first extraordinary sitting on January 13, its debate was held on January 17 and forwarded to the independent institutions’ committee for further review.

The committee report included a change to the election deadline, voting must be held prior to May 10 as per the Local Council Elections Special Provisions act. While the new amendment does not declare a deadline for the elections, it allows for voting to be held amid a state of public health emergency. It further states that elections can only be held under the directive of the director general of public health, and in accordance to Covid-19 health and safety regulations set forth by the Health Protection Agency.

The committee report further states that the Elections Commission (EC) is required to begin work to hold the elections within seven days after amendments to the bill have been ratified by the president.

While the new amendment does not specify a deadline for the Local Council and WDC elections, EC is working to hold the first round on April 6.

The Local Council Elections and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections were scheduled for April 2020, but were postponed following the Covid-19 pandemic through a constitutional amendment which also ensures there is no legal vacuum as the existing councilors’ terms were to expire in June 2020.