Following a complaint of an election official scribbling on the ballot paper, voting at a ballot station in Laamu atoll Fonadhoo has been halted.
Maldives Police Service said it received reports of an official handing out ballot papers to voters after scribbling on them. The authority added it was now looking into the matter.
The information has been verified by an official from the Elections Commission (EC) as well.
The issue came to light after a voter at the station observed that they received a ballot paper which had been scribbled on. The voter received two ballot papers, which had to be replaced each time owing to scribbles.
According to EC regulations, any additional writing or doodling besides the tick within the box beside the candidates will render the ballot void.
The commission recently reported that 34 percent of eligible voters had cast their ballots within three hours of polling which began at 8:00 a.m.
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