Presidential decree for referendum on holding presidential, parliamentary elections together

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has issued Presidential Decree declaring a public referendum to seek the people’s views on conducting presidential and Parliamentary elections simultaneously.

The proposed constitutional amendment providing for presidential and parliamentary elections to be held at the same time and specifying the commencement date of the Parliament term; was passed on 10 February 2026 during the second sitting of the Parliament's first session of the year.

Under Article 262(b) of the Constitution and Section 5(a) of the Public Referendum Act (Law No. 2025/15), amendments of this nature must be approved in a public referendum before presidential ratification.

Article 262(b) stipulates that where a bill to amend the Constitution is passed by the Parliament, the President may ratify it only if it is approved by a majority of votes cast in a public referendum held for that purpose.

Section 31 of the Public Referendum Act further provides that if a majority votes in favor, the President must ratify the bill and publish it in the Gazette within 15 days of the official announcement of results. If the amendment fails to secure a majority, the bill is deemed void.

According to the decree, voters will be asked:

“Do you approve the ratification of the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution, which provides for the Presidential and Parliament elections to be held concurrently and for a change to the term of the Parliament?”

The referendum will be held on Saturday, 4 April 2026, alongside the Local Council and Women’s Development Committee elections.

Following publication of the decree, the Elections Commission has been mandated to make the necessary arrangements to conduct the referendum in accordance with the law.