Constitutional amendment seeks to allocate 30% parliament seats for youths

A bill has been submitted seeking a constitutional amendment to allocate 30 percent of the parliamentary seats for youths below 35 years old.

The bill submitted by South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem seeks to introduce a new subsection to the constitutional article on the election of lawmakers, requiring that 30 percent of parliamentary seats be reserved for youths under 35, including provisions on how the constituencies specific for youths will be determined.

According to Meekail, the amendment was proposed because youths make up the majority of the Maldivian population, thus, deserves broader opportunities to participate in policymaking and national decision-making.

At present, the Parliament comprises of 93 lawmakers – a lawmaker for every 5,000 people.

If the amendment is passed, 28 out of the 93 lawmakers elected to the Parliament will be youths.