Health Protection Agency (HPA) has decided to ease some of the restrictions in the guidelines set for the upcoming Local Council Elections (LCE) and Women’s Development Committee Elections (WDCE).
HPA had set a guideline for the upcoming elections, as required by the Special Act on Local Council Elections which was amended in January to allow the elections to be held amid the State of Public Health Emergency. However, Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) had raised concerns over some major logistical difficulties faced in carrying out the elections in accordance to the HPA guidelines. The difficulties faced in conducting the elections in accordance to HPA guidelines were detailed by ECM in a letter submitted to the Parliament.
Following ECM’s letter, the Parliamentary Committee on Independent Institutions met with members of ECM and the Director General of Public Health Maimoona Aboobakuru to discuss the issues related to the guidelines. During the meeting, it was decided that HPA would submit a revised guideline by the end of the week, with some restrictions eased for the election.
Some of the issues highlighted by ECM regarding the HPA guidelines include the 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.