The Elections Commission has announced that the ruling PNC has fielded the most candidates among the 2,993 candidates competing in the Local Council and Women’s Development Committee elections scheduled for April 4.

According to the Commission’s statistics, out of 1,611 candidates competing in the council elections, 665 are PNC members. Additionally, out of 1,383 candidates competing for women’s committees, 658 candidates also belong to the party. In both elections, MDP has the second-highest number of candidates. Other parties including Jumhooree Party, MDA, The Democrats, and Adalath Party, as well as many independent candidates, are also competing in these elections.

EC Deputy President Abdurrahman Salah Rasheed stated that the lottery to determine the order of candidates’ names will be held around the 12th or 13th of this month. The EC also said that parties wishing to withdraw names will have the opportunity to do so before the lottery. A total of 294,937 people are eligible to vote in this election, while some council seats in certain islands have already been confirmed without an election due to an insufficient number of candidates.