EC announces possibility of holding council elections in April

President of the Elections Commission, Ahmed Shareef has announced the possibility of holding the Local Council Elections and the Women’s Development Committee Elections on April 3, if the Special Provisions Act on Local Council Elections is amended.

Speaking on RaajjeTV’s ‘Fala Surukhee’ programme on Wednesday night, the Elections Commissioner noted that according to the Maldives constitution, holding elections during a state of public health emergency will not be allowed and that discussions are under with the People’s Majlis regarding the council elections.

As such, should amendments be approved for the Special Provisions Act on Local Council Elections, both elections may be held on April 3, this year.

Highlighting that the commission is receiving support and cooperation in proposing amendments to the bill, Shareef emphasized on the immense support from Speaker and Former President Mohamed Nasheed.

Shareef stressed that although the amendments will pave way to hold elections on April 3, the second round of the elections can only be held during the upcoming fasting month of Ramadan. As such, the commission has scheduled the second local council elections round for the last 15 days of Ramadan.

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

The 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 2020, will take place one year after the bill’s ratification; the deadline for the voting is May 9.

It 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 earlier said that it was preparing to hold both elections in March 2021 to ensure that voting is conducted by the required time, and that they would have to cease preparations if the Health Protection Agency did not did not greenlight holding the elections by 5th January. However, this week the authority extended the state of health emergency further.

Main ruling Party (MDP) is working to hold an extraordinary parliamentary session this month, to ensure that council and WDC elections can be carried out without any additional delays.