Oath taking of new members scheduled for end of May

The Peoples' Majlis has scheduled the oath taking ceremony of newly-elected lawmakers for the end of next month.

According to parliament laws, the current parliament will go on leave at the end of April, which would mark the end of their four year term as thus the dissolution of the current parliament. The second term of the year will commence in June as the first sitting of the newly elected members.

Saturday's election saw long-time parliamentarians failing to defend their seats, including prominent lawmakers from opposing Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and Jumhooree Party. The temporary results of the election show main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) to have won an astounding 67 seats, assuring super majority of the parliament. Jumhooree Party won 7 seats while the progressive coalition between PPM and Peoples' National Congress (PNC) were able to attain a mere five seats despite the team-up. Six independent candidates also won seats in the 19th Parliament.