President\'s Office ratifies amendment on ballot rejection

The President’s Office has on Tuesday ratified an amendment to the General Elections Act, expanding on its criteria for ballot rejection.

The law was proposed in parliament by Hulhudhoo constituency MP Mohamed Shahid, and passed by the People’s Majlis on March 4th.

It adds that a ballot will be rejected if any unnecessary markings are made on it.

The criteria for invalid votes is decided in section 51 of the Act.

Other criteria include:

• 1. A ballot that differs from the ballots officially prepared by the Elections Commission
• 2. A ballot that does not bear a mark.
• 3. A ballot that is discernible as having been cast in contravention of the law.
• 4. A vote deemed invalid by a specific law pertaining to an election.

The Elections Commission, the statutory body supervising all national ballots, only accept ballots that clearly signify a vote for a single candidate by checkmark.