With the bulk of bills submitted to the People’s Majlis still in committee, Speaker Mohamed Nasheed has requested that committee work on the bills be hastened.
Nasheed highlighted last week that many Majlis members had complained about not having any work to perform on the parliament floor since most bills scheduled to be filed by the government during the current third session of the People’s Majlis had yet to be received.
The Attorney General’s Office had publicized a list of 32 bills in various fields that were intended to be tabled during the third session of the People’s Majlis, which began on August 16. This comprises bills dealing with the law and the judiciary, religious and social affairs, and the economy and the environment.
According to the Majlis speaker, out of the 32 that were expected to be submitted, just four bills have been submitted so far in this session.
But several bills from previous sessions that were transferred to the current session remain incomplete in the People’s Majlis.
Nasheed stated at the opening of today’s session that the legislative work of the People’s Majlis is being hampered by the government’s delays in submitting new bills.
Despite the delays in introducing new bills, he highlighted that a total of 33 bills are already in committee stages.
The speaker also delivered information on the committees working on the 33 bills, which included 26 bills filed by the government and seven bills submitted by Majlis members.
The following committees are working on the bills:
- Committee on Economic Affairs – 2 bills
- Committee on Independent Institution – 1 bill
- Judiciary Committee – 5 bills
- Committee on Human Rights and Gender – 2 bills
- Committee on Social Affairs – 4 bills
- Committee on National Development and Heritage – 4 bills
- Committee on Decentralization – 5 bills
- Public Accounts Committee – 1 bill
- Committee on National Security Services – 2 bills
- Joint Committees – 7 bills
Speaker Nasheed emphasized that, despite there is less work on the floor, committees must boost their workload to expedite the completion of bills.