The Attorney General’s Office has stated that the Government has acted in accordance with the Constitution and relevant laws regarding the constitutional amendment bill and the planned referendum.

The clarification was issued in response to what the office described as misinformation being circulated among the public regarding the referendum and the procedures required under the law to conduct it. According to the Attorney General’s Office, the referendum will determine whether the public approves the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which was passed by the People’s Majlis.

The office said the amendment was introduced to achieve two key objectives: to hold presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day, and to change the method of calculating the term of the People’s Majlis to begin on 1 December, which would facilitate simultaneous elections and shorten the duration of the current parliament.

The Attorney General’s Office noted that Article 262 (a) and (b) of the Constitution requires certain constitutional amendments to be approved through a public referendum before they can come into effect. Under the provision, a bill passed by the People’s Majlis to amend the Constitution becomes law only after it is ratified by the President following approval by a majority of voters participating in the referendum.

According to the office, the referendum question asks whether the President should ratify the Eighth Amendment passed by the People’s Majlis to establish simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections and to determine the procedure for calculating the parliamentary term.

The statement emphasised that the referendum question and the procedures followed are consistent with the requirements set out in the Constitution and the Public Referendum Act, adding that the Government has so far acted in accordance with the legal framework governing the amendment and the referendum process.