Elections Commission to announce date for local council elections on Sunday
A woman casting her ballot during an election
The Elections Commission has revealed that discussions are ongoing to announce a date for the local council elections on Sunday 8th January.
The announcement was made following an emergency meeting of the national advisory committee drawn up for the local council elections.
Commission member Ahmed Akram told RaajjeTV that the council elections are to be held in April and that a date would be announced on Sunday.
Deputy chairperson of opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) Ali Niyaz said the commission had assured of an election date for early April.
Speaking on behalf of the Maldives United Opposition (MUO), Niyaz said the commission further held discussions on a timeline for the elections.
While the national advisory committee is made up of representatives from all political parties, Niyaz expressed concern as envoys from ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and government-aligned Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) did not attend the meeting.
Representative from all political parties, except PPM and MDA, agreed on Wednesday to fix an election date for early April.
The second point of discussion at the meeting was allowing candidate to campaign without further challenges, Niyaz said.
They also discussed on the matters noted by the High Court in the appeals case following the delay of the elections by two months.
Additionally, discussions were held on an amendment to the Political Parties Act and whether the amendment would be a challenge to registered candidates.
When questioned whether the opposition believes PPM may take part in the local council elections, Niyaz said that the Civil Court order does not compel PPM to run in the election.
“The Civil Court ruling pushes back the local council elections by two months as PPM has been unable to prepare for the elections. It does not state that PPM has to take part in an election which is held after the two months,” Niyaz said.
He expressed hopes that PPM would take part in the election as it concerns national interest, adding that he hopes the court would not take a measure to halt the decision.
Adhaalat Party stated that the party’s main concern at the meeting was to make an arrangement so that the registered candidates do not have to submit candidacy for a second time.
The Civil Court delayed the local council elections by two months on the request of the Yameen faction of the PPM. The ruling states that operations difficulties in running PPM had made it difficult for the party to prepare for the elections.
The ruling party is currently divided into two factions – one which supports President Abdulla Yameen and the other which backs his half-brother and party leader former President Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom.
