An individual has submitted an appeal to the High Court requesting that the opportunity to compete in Local Council Elections be opened up once more.

A media official for the High Court, Faisal Ameen, told RaajjeMV that according to the special Sunset Bill, only the candidates that had been announced by the Elections Commission (EC) on 6th March 2020 were permitted to compete in the council elections, and that an individual had approached the High Court to repeal that section of the law as unconstitutional.

Ameen Faisal said that the appeal had now been accepted and registered at the High Court.

The council elections, set to be held on 4th April earlier this year, were postponed to 18th April following the prevailing nature of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The elections were then postponed indefinitely through the Sunset Bill, ratified by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on 10th May 2020.

The Sunset Bill stated that the Local Council Elections were being postponed in light of the ongoing pandemic, and that the council and Women's Development Committees' elections, which were originally scheduled to be held in April this year, will take place one year after the bill’s ratification.

The bill also highlights that due to the rapid spread of the virus, and due to the preventive measures enacted while the country remains under a state of national health emergency, the elections cannot be held reasonably or safely at the present time.

EC says that it is preparing to hold both elections in March 2021 in accordance with the Sunset Bill, and that they would have to cease preparations if the Health Protection Agency did not did not greenlight holding the elections by 5th January.

The Commission has already announced a list of eligible candidates for the elections, and plans to allow the same candidates to compete in the election should they choose not to withdraw their names.

However, public sentiment is that due to the overreaching delays, the council elections should be held after announcing for candidates to propose their names once more.

As of now, 74 candidates have withdrawn from running in the council elections, and 40 candidates have withdrawn from the election for seats on the Women's Development Committee elections.