Majlis to discuss voting age today

Thursday, May 10th, 2007

The People’s Special Majlis will today discuss the report of the ad-hoc committee appointed to oversee the public referendum to determine the future system of government for the Maldives. The debate on the report had already started in the Majlis, but was interrupted because of the no-confidence motion against Speaker Abbas, his resignation and the election of a new Speaker.

One of the issues that led to the no-confidence motion against Abbas was his handling of some of the issues relating to the referendum. The key issues were the question of allowing people between 18 and 21 years to vote, and the issue of who has the authority to conduct the referendum –the Majlis or the President.

The ruling DRP had originally opposed the move to allow 18 olds to vote, citing constitutional reasons. All other parties were in favor or allowing them to vote. In the past few days, DRP has made an announcement that it now believes that a compromise formula could be found to allow 18 year olds to vote, without contravening the Constitution. The Majlis is expected to explore such options today.

Today’s Meeting of the Special Majlis is also historical because it will be the first meeting under the leadership of Gasim Ibrahim after he was elected to the post of Speaker with a majority of 72 to 6 on Sunday.

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