Husnu Al Suood, prominent lawyer and former attorney general, is to request the court that election day be made a public holiday.
In a tweet on Tuesday, Husnu Suood asked whether he should request the Supreme Court to make September 23 a public holiday or to move election day to September 22.
23 September akee rasmee bandhu dhuvaheh kamah kanda alhai dhinumah edhi, nuvatha voatulun 22 September gai beyvvumah amuru koh dhinun edhi supreme court ah hushahelhun kihineiy vaane baa?
— Husnu Al Suood (@hsuood) July 24, 2018
In a later phone interview with RaajjeTV, Husnu Suood said that he wanted to make the request in order to allow workers to cast their vote more easily. He said that the Constitution states that every Maldivian should have the right to vote and so he did not want to have there be any obstruction preventing voters from exercising that right.
Suood added that previous election days were also public holidays.
Public criticism has been growing regarding the upcoming presidential election with the opposition accusing senior officials of the civil service commission and government-affiliated companies of attempting to commit registration fraud.
