MDP calls for manual submission of forms for council elections

The MDP called today for election forms to be accepted manually as well, citing difficulties in submitting forms for the Local Council and Women's Development Committee elections.

The opposition party's spokesperson for the upcoming April election, former Dhidhdhoo MP Abdulla Waheed, stated in a social media post that although arrangements have been made to submit forms online, only a very short period has been granted to do so. He noted that major challenges are being faced as a large number of candidates must submit their forms before next Sunday.

According to the arrangements made by the EC, the portal will accept forms on official working days and Saturdays from 8:30 AM to 3:30 PM, and on Fridays from 3:30 PM to 6:00 PM.

Waheed stated that when submitting forms through the portal, they are being rejected for minor issues such as ID cards not being clear.

However, he pointed out that since five days have been allocated for a response to those forms, it consumes a lot of time.

Due to such difficulties, MDP has called for forms to be accepted manually as well.

"The time received is the main issue. Fourteen days were given. Previously, 45 days had to be given to apply for the election. This is a matter linked to the rights of many candidates," he said.

In previous elections, forms were accepted only manually. This is the first time an election is being held with online form submission.