The Maldives is not yet ready to adopt an electronic voting system, President of the Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) Mohamed Shakeel has said.
Speaking to PSM News, Shakeel said the public must first be given a thorough understanding of how electronic voting works before the country considers introducing such a system.
He said the Maldives faces no financial barriers to implementing e-voting, but stressed that public confidence and awareness remain the key challenges. According to Shakeel, any move towards electronic voting should only take place after sustained public education and once the electorate has accepted the system.
"Our society, as it stands today, is not ready for e-voting. As I mentioned, there are many different discussions taking place about the system. Whenever e-voting is mentioned, there are claims that it is an attempt to manipulate the process. Before moving to an e-voting system, people must be made aware of the facts and provided with accurate information," Shakeel said.
Shakeel made the remarks amid continuing political debate over the proposed Digital Transformation Bill.
Opposition parties have alleged that the bill could pave the way for the introduction of electronic voting. However, the Elections Commission has repeatedly stated that it is not working to introduce an e-voting system and has maintained that the proposed legislation contains no provisions relating to electronic voting.
Members of the ruling People's National Congress (PNC) have also said that neither the proposed legislative amendments nor the Digital Transformation Bill are intended to change the Maldives' voting system.