Mihaaru News to host Addu Referendum vote debate

Mihaaru News has decided to host a debate tomorrow night regarding the Addu Referendum vote, a groundbreaking referendum to decide whether Hulhudhoo, Meedhoo and Feydhoo should have their own councils under the administration of Addu City Council.

The vote will be held on 25th October, Saturday.

The debate regarding the opinion poll, the first one being held under the Public Referendum Bill, will have various industry experts from Addu.

Among them are Ahmed Shareef (Cyryx Shareef), Secretary General of Addu City Council Ameed Solih, former Secretary General of the Maldives Olympic Committee Ahmed Marjooz (Marey) and former Hulhumeedhoo Council (when it was still a council) member Ali Mohamed.

The debate will be held tomorrow night at 8:30pm to 10:30pm, with the former TV presenter Hassan Ziyau being the debate moderator.

The debate will be held at Meeruma Hall, with Mihaaru News inviting the public to join as well.

It is being held under the name of "Addu Bahus" (Addu Debate), with the panelists expressing their opinion whether Addu should have separate councils.

The debate will be broadcasted live from SSTV and SunPlay, along with Mihaaru News' Facebook and X social media pages.

As per the Elections Commissions publicized list of registration locations for eligible voters, 4,355 people from Feydhoo are eligible to vote, with 2,874 people from Hulhudhoo and 2,347 people from Meedhoo being eligible to vote.

President Muizzu had amended the questions regarding the opinion poll whether three Addu islands should have separate councils via a resolution on 12th October.

The question regarding whether Addu Hulhudhoo and Addu Meedhoo should be jointly governed under a single body, the Addu Hulhumeedhoo Council, was omitted via the first resolution. Under the new resolution, the opinion poll will see whether residents want a separate council for all three islands, namely Hulhudhoo, Meedhoo and Feydhoo.

There will be three ballot boxes in Addu Hulhudhoo, three ballot boxes in Addu Meedhoo and five ballot boxes in Addu Feydhoo, with seven ballot boxes in Male' for residents of those islands living in Male'.