People's Majlis ރައްޔިތުންގެ މަޖިލިސް Rayyithunge Majilis
20th Parliament of the Maldives
Emblem
Type
Type	Unicameral
Term limits	5 years
History
Founded	22 December 1932 (1932-12-22)(established) 12 January 1933 (1933-01-12)[1](first session)
New session started	28 May 2024 (2024-05-28)
Leadership
Speaker	Abdul Raheem Abdulla, PNC since 28 May 2024[2][3]
Deputy Speaker	Ahmed Nazim, PNC since 28 May 2024[4][5]
Secretary General	Fathimath Niusha
Majority Leader	Ibrahim Falah, PNC
Minority Leader	Ibrahim Nazil, MDP
Structure
Seats	93[6]
Political groups	Majority (75)  PNC (75) Minority (12)  MDP (12) Others (6)  MDA (2)  JP (1)  MNP (1)  IND (2)
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post
Last election	21 April 2024
Next election	2029
Motto
وَأَمْرُهُمْ شُورَىٰ بَيْنَهُمْ (wa amruhum shūrā baynahum) "Conduct their affairs through mutual consultation”
Meeting place
80 Medhuziyaaraiy Magu, Henveiru,Malé 20080
Website
majlis.gov.mv
Constitution
Constitution of the Maldives

This article is part of a series on the
Politics of the Maldives
Government Constitution Law enforcement
Executive President of the Maldives Mohamed Muizzu Vice President of the Maldives Hussain Mohamed Latheef Cabinet
Legislature People's Majlis SpeakerAbdul Raheem Abdulla Deputy SpeakerAhmed Nazim Parliament Members
Judiciary Chief Justice Abdul Ghanee Mohamed Supreme Court High Court
Elections National elections Presidential elections 1952 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 2023 Parliamentary elections 1994 1999 2005 2009 2014 2019 2024 Local Council 2026 (to be announced) Referendums 2007 Constitutional Referendum 2025 Addu City Referendum
Political parties Government Congress Party Others Democratic Party Jumhooree Party Adhaalath Party Maldives National Party Maldives Development Alliance People's National Front
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Maldives portal Politics portal
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ThePeople's Majlis (Dhivehi:ރައްޔިތުންގެ މަޖިލިސް,romanized: Rayyithunge Majilis) is theunicamerallegislative body of theMaldives. It has the authority to enact, amend and revise laws, as outlined in theConstitution of the Maldives. It is composed of93 members as of 2024.^[7]

Each year on the first Monday or Thursday of February, the Majlis is opened by thePresident of the Maldives. During the opening of ceremony, the president outlines his policies and achievements in his presidential term. The annual state budget is decided here. Its working language isDhivehi.

Majlis is theArabic word for a sitting room.^[8] It can also refer to a legislature, and is used in the names of legislative councils and assemblies in some states of theIslamic world.^[9][10][11]

A council was set up by SultanMuhammad Shamsuddeen III to draft theConstitution of the Maldives on 9 March 1931. The council completed and implemented the constitution on 22 December 1932. This constitution was the basis for the formation, of the first ever Majlis of the Maldives. The meetings of this Majlis were held in the "Hakura Ganduvaru". The first president or the speaker of the Majlis wasAl Ameer Mohammed Farid Didi. Maldives was then ruled by a sultan and the advent of the new constitution was seen as a threat to the sultanate. Thus, mobs were instigated against the constitution and it was publicly torn up. Since then the constitution of the Maldives has been revised a number of times.

During the era ofFirst Republic of the Maldives from 1953 to 1954, there was a bicameral legislature which includedSenate of the Maldives. The Republican constitution was abolished in January 1954 and unicameral legislature was restored.^[12]

The present parliamentary building of the People's Majlis was inaugurated on 1 August 1998, with the presence of Pakistan's then-Prime MinisterNawaz Sharif. The building was built with the assistance of thePakistani government, who provided a grant ofRs. 45 million ($4.25 million) for its construction.^[13][14][15]

In 2003, amid unrest that unfolded after the killing of political prisonerHassan Evan Naseem by security personnel atMaafushi Prison, some rioters threw stones at the Parliament building.^[16]

In 2024, there were physical altercations between opposition and government parliamentarians over thecabinet appointments of president Mohamed Muizzu.^[17] Opposition MPs were later hospitalized.^[17]

The constitution of the Maldives was re-written in 2008, and the composition, electorates and powers of the Majlis changed drastically. After the change, Majlis had 85 seats, one from each electorate, has an elected speaker from among members, has substantially expanded powers, has been elected in multi-party elections since2009 and generally resembles the legislatures in other liberal democracies.

Two members are elected from each administrative atoll under the new constitution. Another two members are elected from the capitalMalé. The president appoints 8 members to the Majlis. In the past the Majlis was fully controlled by the ruling regime, but it has since changed following the adoption of the new constitution in 2008 and the first multi party election in 2009.

The members are elected for a five-year term. Before the ending of the duration for the existing Majlis, a general election is held to elect a new Majlis. Usually a new Majlis is elected thirty days prior to the expiration of the existing Majlis.

Once elected, members begin their parliamentary responsibilities after taking the oath of office, stipulated in article 67 of the constitution. Members are guaranteed parliamentary immunity under the constitution.

Before the2019 elections, an additional 2 seats were created after two districts in Male’ were split.

In the2024 parliamentary election which was conducted on 21 April 2024 included 93 constituencies:

A speaker is elected among the Members. The speaker chairs the meetings of the Majlis, is responsible for maintaining order in the chamber and supervises the administrative affairs of the Majlis. The speaker is next in line to be the acting president in case of a vacancy in the president's position, until a new council to govern the state is elected.

A deputy speaker is also chosen to assist the speaker of the Majlis and to run the Majlis, when the Speaker is absent or is not fit to fulfill the responsibilities of the Speaker.

The sittings of the Majlis are divided into three sessions a year. The speaker has the authority to assign the dates for the commencing and closing of the Majlis sessions. For a Majlis session to commence, the meeting should be presided by the speaker or the deputy speaker. The quorum of the Majlis is 26 and this number is required to begin a session of the Majlis. If the quorum is not present, the speaker has to adjourn the session. Most Majlis meetings are open to the public.

There are two types of committees in the Majlis. They are the standing committees and the selected committees. There are eleven standing committees in the Majlis, which is responsible for proposing amendments to bills or matters presented to Majlis floor, researching of the proposed bills or matters presented to the Majlis. Members are elected for a period of two and a half years for the standing committees. The responsibility of the standing committees varies, depending on its purpose.

Unlike the standing committees, the selected committees are temporary and it's dissolved, once the selected purpose is over. Usually selected committees are made to investigate or research matters related to a present circumstance or an incident. All the committees are chaired by the speaker or the deputy speaker or a person appointed by the speaker. The Majlis decides the number of members to assign to each committee.

The secretariat of the Majlis was established in 1971. Since then it has been the responsibility of the Secretariat to oversee and facilitate the smooth running of the Majlis. Secretariat supports the Majlis with legislative works, manages the administrative affairs and provides technical support to the members of the Majlis. A secretary general is appointed to run the Majlis secretariat. The general supervises the Majlis secretariat.

Legislative proposals are introduced to the Majlis as bills. The government or the members present the bills to the Majlis floor. Once the bill is presented, the committee stage begins and the members debate on the provisions of the bill. Members may also propose amendments or propose to pass the bill during the debate. The members also have the right to send the bill to any of the related committee for further research and deliberation. If the bill is sent to the committees then there won't be any further debate or voting on the bill, until the committee presents its final findings about the bill.

Once the committee stage is over, members cast their votes to decide whether the bill will pass or not. If an amendment is proposed to the bill, the members votes for the amendment first. When the amendments are passed the members vote on to decide the fate of the bill. Once the bill is passed, it is sent to the president within seven days for presidential assent. The president should give his decree on the bill within thirty days or return it to the Majlis for further consideration or consideration of any amendments proposed by the president.

If the bill was not returned to the Majlis by the president or even if the president did not ratify the bill within the thirty-day period, the bill is deemed to become law. If the bill is sent back to the Majlis, the members can decide to pass the bill as it was before or they can consider the presidents observations.

• List of legislatures by country
• Politics of the Maldives

• Official website(in Dhivehi)
• presidencymaldives.gov.mv
• state.gov
• directory.cpahq.org^{[permanent dead link]}

• 1932 establishments in the Maldives
• Government of the Maldives
• Unicameral legislatures

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