Elections Commission (EC) said 185,709 people had cast their ballots by 4pm in the local council, Women’s Development Committee and referendum votes held today.

Of those who voted, 92,567 were women and 93,142 were men, representing 62.9 percent of eligible voters.

A total of 109,167 people, about 37 percent, had not voted by that time.

Polling, which began at 8:00am, was initially scheduled to close at 4pm but was extended to 5pm due to large queues and hot weather conditions.

A total of 2,961 candidates are contesting the elections, with the ruling PNC fielding the highest number at 1,322. The opposition MDP has 905 candidates, while MDA has 57. Jumhooree Party has 15 candidates, the Adhaalath Party nine, and The Democrats eight.

There are also 645 independent candidates contesting the two elections.

A total of 678 seats are to be filled in the local council elections, with another 678 seats in the Women’s Development Committees, bringing the total number of positions to be filled to 1,356.