Newly-elected mayors, counselors to take oaths in mid-May: LGA
The final results of Saturday's elections have caused conflicts and tension among political parties
Afshan Latheef, CEO of the Local Government Authority
The Local Government Authority (LGA) has revealed that newly elected mayors, councilor's and committee members for the Local Council and Women's Development Committee Elections will be sworn into their positions in mid-May.
Speaking to Raajje MV about the next step for newly-elected officials, CEO of the Local Government Authority Afshan Latheef revealed that the ceremony for the swearing in of newly-elected councilors. Although Afshan declined to provide details, she confirmed that the event would be conducted after Ramazan, and that the LGA woulld announce the official date of the event soon.
Mayors, councilors and committee members were elected through polling on Saturday, after the Local Council and Women's Development Committee Elections were held in Maldives following two instances of delays. While voting took place on 10 April 2021, the Elections Commission scheduled the releasing of interim results for Friday. EC is working towards releasing final verified results of the vote in the coming days.
Despite delays in conducting the elections, these are the strongest and most autonomous councils to be elected in Maldives, following changes made to the Decentralization Act under the incumbent administration.
Of the 3,814 candidates who contested in the elections, 2,234 candidates had run for local council seats while 1,580 candidates contested for Women's Development Committees. A total of 1,912 persons were elected to seats in the Local Council and Women's Development Committee Elections.
EC President Ahmed Shareef has previously stated that the unrest which had occurred outside the commission's building on Tuesday had been the result of irresponsible behavior on behalf of political parties. While parties remain conflicted over the outcome of the vote, the EC has since been forced to delay the re-counting of votes for 18 ballot boxes, for which the commission has noted inconsistencies in data entry.
EC President Shareef also assured that no one would be able to tamper with the elections result, and that the re-counting of votes had not been initiated due to complaints on behalf of the public, but in order to verify results prior to announcing them.
