PNC will win 80 percent of local council election: Falah

PNC Parliamentary Group Leader and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falah has said today at Parliament that next years local council elections will see PNC win by 80 percent.

He said this while speaking on the amendments proposed by the government to the Decentralization Act. Responding to allegations from the opposition that the amendments are aimed at depriving councils of their powers, Falah said President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu is not trying to take away the rights of the council.

One of the more pressing worries MDP has is the role the Finance Ministry and the LGA have in recruiting employees during the final year of the councils term.

The amendment states that if the period between the expiry of the term of the councils as stipulated in the Constitution is one year or less, the council shall not perform certain functions except in accordance with the rules prescribed by the Ministry of Finance and the LGA. These include the recruitment of permanent or contract employees to the council administration or the council office, or the lease and grant of land, harbors and reef areas within the jurisdiction of the council.

Falah said that even if it is the current administration or current councils, what they should be doing in the last year of their term is to prepare for the upcoming elections, and that some councils are leasing land in some islands and hiring employees in order to win elections, he said. He went on to say that this is a misuse of power that has been given to the council.

"In all honesty, it needs to be stopped (referencing the amendments to the Decentralization Act). This is also something that should be supported by MDP. They know for a fact that by the grace of God that the upcoming local council elections will see PNC win 80 percent of the votes. Our councilors will remain," Falah said.

However, he did say that the PNC councilors should not use nefarious means to win the election.

One of MDP's other worries is the bill also stating that the investment or capital of local authority companies established by councils should not exceed MVR 10 million.

Referencing to this, Falah went on to say that he has no local authority companies in place at Raa Atoll. He raised the question of a local authority company to start a business worth MVR 2 million in an island, which may result in 10 small local shops going bankrupt and to think about whether that should be the outcome.

"We really need to think from all angles," said Falah.