The Election Commission (EC) has stressed that there were many invalid votes during the 2023 presidential election, and that efforts will be made to create more awareness in time for the upcoming parliamentary polls.

This was revealed by the Vice President of the Elections Commission, Ismail Habeeb during a press conference hosted on Sunday to share the latest updates on the upcoming People’s Majlis elections with the public.

Speaking to press, Habeeb revealed that the rules of the parliamentary elections have now been publicized in the government gazette.

Noting that a list of eligible voters for the parliamentary elections would be publicized on January 10, Habeeb added that efforts are also being made to create a portal for complaints, to submit grievances and complaints conveniently.

Stressing that there were many invalid votes during the 2023 presidential election, Habeeb announced that efforts will be made to create more awareness in time for the upcoming parliamentary polls.

Shedding light on the Malé City Mayoral election and the by-election for some constituencies, Habeeb stated that 55 ballot boxes would be stationed across the capital city for the by-election on January 13. He urged as many people as possible to come out and exercise their right to vote.

Further, it was also revealed that ballot boxes would be stationed across Hulhumalé and Villimalé for the mayoral election.

Habeeb also revealed that more than thousand individuals would be actively involved in the observation of the by-elections this time and went on to urge the public to be careful about the provisions of the election laws.

As by-elections are scheduled for different dates even after January 13, EC has shared the details regarding this matter.

Earlier, the commission revealed that they would conduct a survey to find out the reason behind the high number of invalid votes in the recent presidential elections.

The Vice President of EC noted that new issues were identified in the way votes were counted as invalid, as compared to the previous elections and the last round.

Noting that these are issues that need to be looked into, Habeeb revealed that they would do it.

Habeeb also said that election laws were enacted more than 15 years ago and there should be amendments in the law to suit the present times.

Highlighting that this should be done at a time elections are not around the corner, Habeeb stated that EC would hold discussions with relevant institutions and political parties regarding the matter.