The Democrats Presidential Candidate Ilyas Labeeb has stated that this is the time to hold a referendum on changing the system of governance in the Maldives to a Parliamentary System.

Speaking in the debate on the change in the representation of political parties and non-partisan members in the standing committees of the Parliament, he said that every election held so far under the new constitution has tried to remove an incumbent, or change the government, or to free some of the people in the election.

So when it comes to the election vote, instead of voting for what the people want, there is a whole other goal. Therefore, the election process is not conducted in the interest of the people and the people do not vote to implement what they want, he said.

In the current presidential system, no party has won the presidential election in the first round, he said, adding that in this system, a coalition is always required. Therefore, it is important to bring a referendum to the people at this time. The people's decision is the last resort,” he said.

Like all Democrats who spoke in today's session, he stressed the importance of changing the government to a parliamentary system.

The present presidential system is not a system that can run the country. Therefore, it is important to change the system of government to a parliamentary system in all directions, he said.