The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has announced that voting has officially commenced at all polling stations established for the Local Council and Women’s Development Committee elections, as well as the national referendum.
The Commission noted that although voting was scheduled to begin at 08:00, some polling stations experienced slight delays due to the absence of the two required public observers needed to initiate proceedings. However, the ECM has confirmed that voting is now successfully underway across all polling stations throughout the Maldives.
Speaking during coverage, the Vice President of the Elections Commission, Abdul Rahman Salah Rasheed, stated that the Commission began accepting complaints from 05:00 today. He revealed that 10 complaints have been received so far, including reports of campaigning during prohibited hours and concerns regarding the potential invalidation of ballots if a voter accidentally places a ballot paper into the wrong box, given that three separate votes are being conducted simultaneously.
Vice President Abdul Rahman Salah Rasheed confirmed that voting will proceed as scheduled, from 08:00 to 16:00.
“According to the established voting procedures, queues will close promptly at 16:00. Once the queue is closed, ballot boxes will be sealed after all individuals already waiting in line at that time have cast their votes. Following a 30-minute break, the counting of votes will commence,” he explained.
Furthermore, he noted that as three separate votes are taking place today, each voter will be issued three ballot papers. He emphasised that no election official will ask whether a voter intends to cast their ballot for a particular option.
A total of 294,876 individuals are eligible to vote in this election, comprising 144,506 women and 150,370 men. The council elections feature 1,592 candidates, while 1,368 candidates are contesting for positions in the Women’s Development Committees.
The Local Council Elections aim to elect 678 representatives, with an additional 678 members to be elected to the Women’s Development Committees. In total, 1,356 positions will be filled through these two elections.