Elections Commission of Maldives has said signed voter lists have been shared with political parties and candidates, rejecting claims to the contrary.
Deputy Chief of EC, AbdulRahman Solah, made the remarks in response to comments by Ibrahim Waheed, Vice Chair of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), who alleged that key voter information had not been provided in the usual format.
Speaking at a party meeting, Waheed said that in previous elections, voter lists and related data were shared in Excel format, but claimed this was the first election where such information had not been provided, raising concerns about electoral integrity.
Solah dismissed the claims as untrue, stating that the Excel version of the voter list had been shared with parties, after which party representatives signed off on the lists. He added that the signed lists have also been redistributed to both parties and candidates.
According to Solah, the final list of eligible voters was emailed to political parties on 12 March, while the signed version was shared on 24 March.
Local council elections, Women’s Development Committee elections and a referendum on holding presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day are all scheduled to take place concurrently.
A total of 347 polling stations will be set up across atolls outside the Malé area.
In total, 1,592 candidates are contesting the local council elections, while 1,368 candidates are running for Women’s Development Committees.
The final voter registry shows 294,876 eligible voters, including 144,506 women and 150,370 men.
