The Elections Commission of Maldives (EC) has revealed that the voting time for the ongoing Malé City Mayor and Malé City Councilors by-election will not be extended further.

In an interview with RaajjeTV, Vice President of EC Ismail Habeeb revealed that several individuals had requested for an extension of the voting period as some of the people who were supposed to travel to the capital for voting could not make it due to the adverse weather conditions experienced throughout the country on Friday.

To accommodate this request, EC had extended the voting deadline from 4pm to 5pm earlier.

Habeeb noted that voting would proceed till 5pm and that it will not be extended further.

Stressing on the low voter turnout, Habeeb stated that this was a matter of concern and that people are expected to come and cast their ballots later in the afternoon.

He added that candidates and their supporters were working to convince more people to go to their dedicated polling stations and cast their ballots.

Alongside the Malé City Mayor and Malé City Councilors by-election, the by-election for the Women’s Development Committee (WDC) in Mulah island of Meemu atoll is also underway.

Habeeb stated that the polling process was ongoing peacefully and that polling began at all but one booth before 8:25am on Saturday.

Voting at the polling station set for residents of Mulah in Malé City, commenced by 9:50am.

While a minimum of two voters were required to be present to begin polling, the two voters arrived at the station at 9:50am according to Habeeb.

More than 50,000 individuals are eligible to vote in the Malé City Mayor and Malé City Councilors by-election.

Only 40 percent of eligible voters had exercised their right to vote, during the last local council elections according to the commission.