Elections Commission (EC) has stated that citizens who re-register to another island will not be allowed to vote.

This comes after the government announced that it is opening up the opportunity to register in capital city Male’.

Speaking at RaajjeTV’s “Fala Surukhee” programme on Monday night, EC Spokesperson Ahmed Akram said allowing people who register to another island to vote would be irregular since their new address would differ from the address in the voters list.

Therefore, EC announced that people not change their ID or re-register to another island from July 1 to September 23 and if the election heads to a second round, to avoid changing their registry during that time period as well. The Commission also called on political parties to disclose this information to its members.

At a press conference at the President’s Office on Sunday, Housing Minister Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said they have decided to open Male’ Dhaftharu (Citizen Registry) up for registration, after discussions with the cabinet and that President Abdulla Yameen has requested that they give priority to residents of the social housing units.

Also, on the “Fala Surukhee” programme, Akram said that the phone messages asking for people’s private information are not from EC and that the Commission would issue a notice before asking for personal information. He added that EC is not sending messages at the moment and warned people to be vary of fake messages.