Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has submitted a letter to the Parliament of the Maldives, listing the legal obstructions in conducting the Local Council Elections (LCE) and Women’s Development Committeee Elections (WDCE) on April 10 this year.
The issues highlighted by ECM in the letter submitted to the Parliament on February 11 includes the difficulties and obstructions in conducting the elections in accordance to the HPA guidelines. This includes obstructions in providing equal opportunities to all candidates to conduct their campaigns, the requirement for ECM to facilitate voting for individuals who test positive for COVID-19 or undergo quarantine, and the lack of options for resort employees to cast their vote.
Furthermore, ECM also highlighted that candidate representatives, monitors and observers are not allowed to stay in the polling stations, which could raise further questions on the credibility of the elections. ECM also noted additional budget is required to acquire more officials and ballot boxes which would be required to conduct the elections in accordance to HPA guidelines.
ECM had earlier announced an appeal will be made to the Parliament of the Maldives to postpone the elections, given the difficulties in meeting the April 10 deadline while following the HPA guidelines for the elections. ECM has stated preparations for the election will continue until a decision is made on postponing the elections.
As per the Special Act on Local Council Elections, which was ratified last year to allow the elections to be postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the elections must be held within one year of the date of ratification of the Act. Therefore, according to this clause, the elections must be held latest by May 9.