The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has revealed the by-elections for women's development committees (WDCs) will be held in the middle of each year.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih ratified the Local Council Elections Act which was evaluated by the Parliamentary Committee on Decentralisation. The bill proposes to change the current law which states that the ECM is required to hold a by-election within 60 days after a WDC member resigns. The bill proposes to allow the ECM to hold an election within 365 days and states that by-elections should be held within 300-365 days of each other.
Secretary-General of ECM Hassan Zakariya said that the date of the annual by-elections has been discussed and the advice of the Local Government Authority (LGA) has been received. He also said the by-elections will be held in such a way that it will not conflict with any other elections held by the electoral body. He further said the date of the by-elections will be gazetted next week.
ECM expressed concern over having to hold back-to-back by-elections for WDCs as members resign from their posts after being elected. The electoral body revealed that USD240,000 has been spent on by-elections for local councils and WDCs in the past two years. The amendment bill is expected to significantly reduce the state expenditure on holding back-to-back elections.