Main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has filed a complaint at the Elections Commission (EC) over mandating re-registry forms of eligible voters employed at resorts to be stamped by the respective resort.
MDP Secretary General Anas Abdul Sattar took to twitter on Monday, and stated that the commission was requiring employees of resorts to get their re-registry form stamped by their employee whilst the commission is accepting forms collected through ministries and state-owned enterprises without the respective stamps.
Anas further stated that the opposition's concern grows as the commission has not revealed a reason for such a requirement.
EC recently decided to place ballot boxes in a total of 43 resorts for the upcoming Presidential Election, surpassing the record of the 2013 election.
The commission had initially announced to place ballot boxes in only seven resorts, an 87 percent drop compared to the last election. However, in the wake of widespread criticism and concerns, EC reversed its decision and allocated ballot boxes for resorts with a minimum of 100 registered voters.
The number of resorts chosen for ballot boxes in 2013 had been 42.
The commission asserted that it will not place ballot boxes in any resorts with less than 100 voters registered. Local employees at such resorts would have the chance to vote at their registered home islands, or to re-register at another island closer to their resort. EC stated that a period of three days will be granted for resort workers to re-register, should they opt for the latter.
EC will be placing 491 ballot boxes for the Presidential Election slated for September 23, while 263,000 individuals have been listed as eligible to vote.
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