Possibility of holding local elections on March 13 "very high"

The Local Council and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections will most likely be held on March 13, 2021.

Elections Commission (EC) President, Ahmed Shareef, revealed this on RaajjeTV’s Fala Surukhee programme on Tuesday night.

The elections were to be held in April this year, but was delayed after a constitutional amendment due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

While work was underway to hold the elections on the 6th of March 2021, Shareef on Tuesday said that this will lead to various challenges as they are required to use the Ministry of Education’s resources for elections.

While March 6 is the weekend and the following week is mid-term break as per next year’s academic calendar, Shareef noted difficulties in training officials as “this is done by school staff and teachers in outlying islands”.

The EC president said that they are currently in discussions to hold the council elections on 13 March 2021, adding that the possibility is “very high”.

While this will lead to a one-week delay, Shareef assured that the election will be held prior to the start of Ramadan 2021, including a second round if required. However, Shareef noted that official results could be announced during the fasting month.

Noting that this is not an issue, Shareef said that their goal is to ensure a smooth preparation process.

The Local Council Elections and the Women’s Development Committee Elections 2020 were postponed through the People’s Majlis, to avoid a legal vacuum before the terms of existing councilors expired on June 3. The parliament passed the special motion back in April while President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the bill in May.

While the opportunity to withdraw from the council elections was opened back in June, following the postponement, a total of 114 candidates withdrawn from the race.