Bill proposed allowing Speaker to take over presidential powers after 11 November deadline

A bill has been presented to parliament defining the procedures for an interim period if the country fails to elect a president by the constitutional deadline of the presidential term, 11 November.

The bill was titled; ways to proceed in an interim period if a president and a vice president is not elected by the end of the 2008 presidential term, and proposed by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) member Henveyru-south MP Hamid Abdul Gafoor.

Parliament heard the first reading of the bill this morning, which stated the purpose of the bill as to “fill the constitutional void” that might arise if a president and vice president is not elected by 10 November 2013.

The bill proposes, if the country fails to elect a president by the constitutional deadline, for the Speaker of the Parliament to take over the powers of the president, and for the Deputy Speaker of the Parliament to take over the powers if the Speaker is unavailable for the duty, and in turn, for the parliament to elect a member to take over the powers if the Deputy Speaker is unavailable.

If a person other than a president or vice president takes over presidential powers, the bill states that the an election must be held within 21 days of the beginning of the interim period and that the new president elect must take his oath of office within 18 hours of the Elections Commission’s announcement of his presidency.

It also states that the new 5-year presidential term will be counted from the day the president takes office. The long-standing constitutional date for a new president to be sworn into office is 11 November.

Preliminary debate for the bill is yet to begin.