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Parliamentary Elections 2024: Vote early, EC President says voting hours will not be extended beyond 17:30hrs

Elections Commission (EC) has stated that there will no extensions to the voting hours during tomorrow's Parliamentary election. The hours as announced are 08:00 hrs to 17:30 hrs.

Mariyath Mohamed
20 April 2024, MVT 23:52
EC President Fuad speaking at an earlier press conference.
Mariyath Mohamed
20 April 2024, MVT 23:52

Elections Commission (EC) has stated that there will no extensions to the voting hours during tomorrow's Parliamentary election.

In a press conference held tonight, EC confirmed that all preparations have now been completed for tomorrow's election.

EC President Fuad Thaufeeq stated that voting will begin at 08:00 hrs tomorrow morning. Officials will commence opening the envelopes and undertaking other preparatory work about thirty minutes before voting starts.

Fuad asserted that the commission has decided that 'not even an extra minute' will be granted for voting after polling closes at 17:30 hrs.

He appealed to the electorate to be mindful of the time and make sure to vote within the given timeframe.

"Whether it rains, or it gets extremely sunny, there is no way to extend voting hours beyond 5.30 pm," Fuad stated.

He clarified that those who line up in the queues ahead of the 17:30 deadline will be allowed to vote.

In some earlier elections, the voting window has been extended near the closing time. However, the Presidential Elections held last year saw the EC decide to not extend the voting hours at all, closing queues at the predetermined deadline.

Fuad further shared that officials have travelled to the three countries abroad where voting will take place tomorrow. He confirmed that all across Maldives, all arrangements are in place to carry forward tomorrow's election smoothly as scheduled.

The number of eligible voters for this election is 284,337: including 139,165 women and 145,162 men.

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