Member of the People's Majlis

In the Maldives, a Member of the People's Majlis refers to individuals elected to serve in the People's Majlis, the unicameral parliament of the Maldives.

All the members are elected in a first-past-the-post voting system where each constituency has its own single representative.^[1]

The seats of the parliament members become vacant for elections held every five years.

If there is a vacancy before the five years due to a death or resignation, then the constituency vacancy can be filled by a by-election.^[2]

A person can be eligible to run for a seat in the Majlis if they are:^[3]

• a Maldivian citizen (acquired citizenship five years before election and must be domiciled);
• aren't a citizen of any other country;
• are a Sunni Muslim;
• aged eighteen or above;
• is of sound mind.

They'll be disqualified if they:^[3]

• are a member of the judiciary;
• has a decreed debt which isn't being paid as provided in a judgement;
• have been convicted of a criminal offence and serving for more than twelve months;
• have been convicted of a criminal offence and serving for more than twelve months and a period of three years hasn't been elapsed since his release or pardon.

A member of the People's Majlis can't be part of:^[3][2]

• Cabinet of Ministers;
• can't hold the position of State Minister, Deputy Minister, or any other position of those level;
• an independent commission or independent office;
• the civil service;
• the Armed forces;
• the Police;
• a corporation wholly or partly controlled by the government;
• any other office of the State.

• Parliamentary Elections Act