Elections Commission (EC), on Tuesday, announced that only 120 candidates out of the total 386 contesting in the upcoming parliamentary election have signed the voters’ list.
EC President Ahmed Shareef brought attention to the fact in a tweet, declaring that signatures would not be accepted after 1430 hours on Wednesday.
According to the elections watchdog, the remaining 266 candidates contesting in the election slated for April 6 have until the end of Wednesday to sign their names. EC opened signing for the voters’ list from March 25-27.
Shareef stated that only 35 of the 85 candidates from Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), 47 out of 174 independent candidates, and 10 out of 47 Jumhooree Party candidates signed the voters’ list.
The candidates yet to sign the list consist of 32 representatives from Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People’s National Congress (PNC), five Adhaalath Party candidates, five candidates from Maldives Labour and Social Democratic Party, eight candidates from Maldives Third-Way Democrats, and five candidates from Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party.
While the chance to compete in this year’s parliamentary elections ended on February 21, 403 people submitted applications. However, some of the candidates later withdrew their names.
A total of 264,589 people are eligible to vote in this year’s parliamentary elections as per the list publicized by EC.
Sign In