The Parliament’s Committee of the Whole House has approved the constitutional amendment to dissolve Atoll Councils, while omitting a proposed provision that would have allowed Members of Parliament to be unseated through a public referendum if they leave or are expelled from the political party under which they were elected.

The Government submitted two constitutional amendment bills through Baarah MP Ibrahim Shujau. One amendment sought to require a public vote in the member’s constituency to determine whether an MP should retain their seat if expelled from their party. The second amendment proposed dissolving Atoll Councils from the Constitution.

Under the current Constitution, MPs automatically lose their seat if they are expelled from the party they represent. Several MPs voiced strong opposition to changing this article, arguing that such a system would increase the cost of conducting repeat elections and undermine the principle that MPs are elected based on the public’s trust in their party affiliation.

During committee deliberations, Fonadhoo MP Mohamed Mamdooh submitted a motion to remove the clause relating to party defection and seat forfeiture entirely from the amendment bill. His motion was approved with 50 votes in favour.

The proposal to abolish the Atoll Council, however, received broad support from members. As a result, the Committee voted to pass the constitutional amendment with 52 votes in favour.