Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed has expressed the importance of facilitating means to conduct the local council elections as soon as possible.
In a tweet, Speaker Nasheed said the elections must be held in the earliest possible timeframe, without delay. He expressed belief any legislative changes required to conduct the elections must be brought immediately in order to facilitate the elections.
Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) planned to conduct the postponed local council elections in March this year. However, with the extension of the State of Public Health Emergency until February 3, the elections can no longer be held in March as per the Special Act on Local Council Elections ratified last year.
The local council elections were initially scheduled to be held on April 4, 2020. However, following the declaration of the State of Health Emergency in the Maldives on March 12 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the elections were first postponed to April 18, which was the latest date to hold the elections according to the law. ECM later made the decision to postpone the elections indefinitely, as COVID-19 continued to spread in the country.
The Special Act on Local Council Elections was ratified by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in May, allowing the elections to be postponed. The Act states the elections can only be held after health authorities lift the State of Health Emergency and guarantee there is no risk in conducting the elections.