Attorney General Ahmed Usham has stated that a public referendum will be held to decide on changing the start date of the presidential term to November 11. In an interview given to PSM News on the occasion of the government’s first anniversary, he said that President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu wants to set November 11 as the date for the change of presidential term, as it has been traditionally done in the Maldives.
Usham said that this change cannot be made without amending the constitution, and according to the constitution, a public referendum must be held if the term of government is to be changed. Usham said that the constitution states that a presidential term is five years, and even if one day is reduced from that term, the legally valid way is to amend the constitution through a public referendum. Therefore, a public referendum will be held to amend the constitution for this purpose, and if the public approves, the presidential term will begin on November 11 in 2028, Usham said.
In the 2013 presidential election, former President Abdullah Yameen was sworn in on November 17. Since then, every term has begun on November 17. The date for the start of the presidential term changed when the Supreme Court annulled the first round of the 2013 presidential election, resulting in the inability to elect a new president by November 11 of that year.
