The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has confirmed that 2,993 candidates will contest the Local Council and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections scheduled for 4 April.
A total of 3,547 applications were submitted before the deadline through the commission’s portal. After review, 1,610 candidates were approved to run for council seats, while 1,383 were cleared to contest positions on women’s development committees.
The application process opened on 17 January, with submissions examined and applicants notified of their status. ECM officials underscored that the figures released are final unless a candidate withdraws or a court order requires the acceptance of a previously rejected application.
Disqualifications were attributed to administrative shortcomings. The commission cited failures to provide lifetime criminal and debt records, as well as the absence of mandatory clearances from the Maldives Correctional Service.
The April polls will fill hundreds of administrative posts across the country. Voters are set to elect 626 island councillors and 52 city councillors, along with an equivalent number of representatives for the women’s committees.
The scale of the exercise is considerable, requiring the finalisation of nearly three thousand candidacies from the initial pool of applicants. According to the commission, 294,937 individuals are eligible to vote in this cycle. The electorate is almost evenly divided, comprising 150,410 men and 144,527 women.