Amendment bill to Decentralisation Act ratified

President Abdulla Yameen on Thursday ratified an amendment bill to the Decentralisation Act, reducing the number of councillors in islands with populations exceeding 3,000 to five, and the number of councillors in islands with populations less than 3,000 to three.

Before the amendment, islands with populations between 3,000 and 10,000 had seven councillors, and islands with populations less than 3,000 had five councillors.

The amendment bill also proposed changes to the requirements for a region to receive city status. The population for a region to qualify as a city was brought down from 25,000 to 10,000.

The new law will also see the reduction of the number of councillors in Fuvahmulah administrative divisions from five to three.