President of the Elections Commission (EC) Ahmed Shareef has said they would not be able to host the Local Council and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections like planned in March due to the extension of the state of public health emergency announced in the country.

While the public health emergency was extended on Monday, until February 3, the Commission had been working to hold the local elections on March 6.

Shareef has previously stated that they would not be able to hold the elections if the state of public health emergency is not lifted, as well as that they do not have the budget to host the elections at the time.

Speaking to RaajjeMV regarding the issues in holding the elections due to the extension of the state of public health emergency, the EC president stressed explained that it would be difficult to complete the re-registration process in just 30 days, given the state of public health emergency is lifted after this extension and considering the current situation. He stressed that the elections would only be hosted once all the necessary preparations have been made.

The Elections Commission is set to meet later on Wednesday to further assess and come to a decision regarding the feasibility of hosting the Local Council and WDC elections at this time.

At an appearance on Raajje TV's "Fala Surukhee" programme last December, the EC president highlighted various challenges in holding the elections on March 6 as the EC 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 Local Council Elections and the Women’s Development Committee Elections 2020 were to be held in April 2020, but was delayed after a constitutional amendment due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was 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.

Following Shareef's announcement that the council elections might not be held as planned, Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed has urged a swift amendment to the law, if needed, to ensure that the Local Council and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections can be held soon.