The Elections Commission (EC) has decided to open the opportunity to contest in the upcoming Local Council Elections and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections—scheduled for April 4th—this coming Saturday. This was revealed by the Commission’s President, Mohamed Zahid, during a press conference held today.

Zahid stated that those wishing to contest the election will have the opportunity to submit their candidacy from this coming Saturday until February 1st. In this election, members will be selected for a total of 225 constituencies, with a total of 1,356 members to be elected. This includes 678 members elected to Local Councils and 678 members elected to WDCs.

The voters list for the election has now been made public. According to the list released on the 8th of this month, 294,937 people have the right to vote in this election. Statistics show that this includes 144,527 women and 150,410 men.

Voting is scheduled to proceed from 8:00 AM to 4:00 PM on election day. The EC President stated that voting hours will not be extended unless a situation such as a natural disaster occurs. It has been decided to place a large number of ballot boxes across the Maldives and abroad for this election. Specifically, 321 boxes will be placed in islands within the atolls, while 240 boxes will be placed in the Greater Male’ area (Male’, Hulhumale’, Villimale’) specifically for citizens of other islands and cities (Kulhudhuffushi, Fuvahmulah, Thinadhoo, and Addu City) residing in Male’. Additionally, 50 boxes will be placed in resorts, 5 in prisons, and 3 in industrial sites. Abroad, ballot boxes will be placed in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.