Parliament’s current session to be extended to August 26

The current session of the Parliament – the first of the 20th legislative assembly which took office in May – is set to be extended to August 26.

The extension was proposed by Speaker Abdul Raheem Abdulla during a sitting on Tuesday morning.

The current session is set to expire on Thursday. But Abdul Raheem proposed extending the session by a week, citing that the Parliament has important work it needs to get done.

“I plan on extending this session until Monday, August 26, 2024,” he announced.

The proposed extension will be called to vote in the afternoon.

The 93-member new parliamentary assembly took office on May 28. The main ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) holds a supermajority at the Parliament, with 75 seats. Three parties aligned with the PNC also hold seats: the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) holds two, while the Maldives National Party (MNP) and Jumhoory Party (JP) holds one each. The three parties are aligned with the PNC.

Meanwhile, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) holds 12 seats. The remaining two seats are held by independents.