The Parliament will reconvene on February 5 for its first session of the year, the Parliament Secretariat has announced.

The opening sitting is scheduled to begin at 9:00 a.m. and will include the annual Presidential Address delivered by President Dr Mohamed Muizzu.

This will be the third time President Muizzu addresses the legislature since assuming office.

The Presidential Address is mandated under the Constitution and requires the President to brief Parliament on the state of the nation while outlining key policies and measures deemed necessary for national development at the start of each parliamentary year.

Under parliamentary procedure, a formal response to the address must be prepared following its delivery.

The responsibility for drafting the response lies with the leader of the political party holding the second-largest number of seats in Parliament, provided the party is not affiliated with the President.

Parliamentary rules also require that the views of all members be considered in preparing the response.

The reply to the Presidential Address must be presented to Parliament within 14 days of the address.

The February 5 sitting will mark the first regular parliamentary sitting of the year, following two extraordinary sittings that have been convened since January.