EC announces local council elections in April 4th next year

The Elections Commission (EC) today announced that the upcoming Local Council Elections will be held on April 4th of next year.

Although the EC had not officially announced the date for the Local Council Elections previously, EC President Mohamed Zahid had initially stated that the election would be held on March 28th. The EC did not give a reason today for the delay from the previously mentioned date to the new official date.

The Commission stated that in this election, people will be elected to the Local Councils and the Women's Development Committees (WDC) from 226 constituencies.

The EC has already announced a recruitment drive to find over 7,000 officials to work at the polling stations for this election. The Commission said that those interested in working as officials can submit their applications via the e-pass portal, my.elections.gov, before 3:00 PM on the 21st of this month. The EC has also advertised for staff needed for other election work.

EC President Mohamed Zahid previously estimated that the upcoming Local Council Elections would cost approximately MVR 80 million.

Responding to a question on PSM's "Raajje Miadhu" program, Zahid had previously stated that elections held in the Maldives are "very expensive elections." He added that there are plans to reduce election expenses in the future.

"...We estimate that this election will cost at least around MVR 70 to 80 million," Zahid had stated.

He explained that the high cost of elections in the Maldives is due to the comprehensive arrangements made to ensure the integrity and trustworthiness of the electoral process.