Kulhudhuffushi island in Haa Dhaal atoll has officially been declared a city.

President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih made the declaration via Twitter on Tuesday, his Tweet reads that the island will officially be deemed a city from 1 January onwards and the decision was made to be implemented under the Decentralization Act.

Kulhudhuffushi reached a population of 10,000 during November 2018, and so, as per the Maldives Constitution, islands with a population over 10,000 will be declared a city.

Declaring the island a city was included in President Solih’s campaign pledges for the 2018 Presidential Election.

This comes at a time the island’s council asserted that the next election to be held in the island must be a local council election pursuant to the Decentralization Act.

The community had expressed concern regarding the government’s announcement for seats in the local council election to be held during April 2020, as it did not include Kulhudhuffushi as a city. The council asserted that the community does not wish to carry through if they are not voting to elect members to a city council.