Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has stated officials at polling stations will not check whether voters use expired national identity cards.
President of ECM Ahmed Shareef said voters can use expired identity cards to vote in the upcoming Local Council Elections (LCE) and Women's Development Committee Elections (WDCE) to be held on April 10. Expired ID cards are allowed to be used for voting due to difficulties in the renewal of ID cards due to the COVID-19 situation in the Maldives.
DNR has extended the validity of expired identity card until June 30 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, DNR will be accepting applications to renew identity cards through its website.
A total of 273,128 citizens are eligible to vote in the elections, including individuals who turn 18 on election day. A total of 3,934 candidates will contest in the elections, including 2,264 candidates in the LCE and 1,670 candidates in the WDCE.