The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has stated that individuals failing to submit complaints regarding the list of eligible voters for the upcoming parliamentary election by the deadline may face difficulties casting their votes in their preferred constituencies.
Vice President of ECM Ismail Habeeb highlighted that there are six days remaining for submission of complaints regarding the voters' list. He urged voters to verify their names, addresses, ID card numbers and the assigned polling station on the voters' list. He also noted that ECM compiled information in the voters' list based on national identification cards, disregarding the home registry. He warned that failure to review the information within the specified timeframe could result in individuals being unable to vote in their preferred constituencies.
The voters' list has been published in the Government Gazette and individuals can check their names on the list via SMS. The list is also available at the local council offices. Complaints can be submitted between 0830hrs to 1500hrs on official working days, 0900hrs to 1500hrs on holidays, and 1500hrs to 1700hrs on Fridays. The electoral body said that complaints are to be submitted to the election headquarters in the Dharubaaruge convention centre in the capital Male' City or the local council office of an island. The deadline for submitting complaints is January 21.
ECM has scheduled the parliamentary elections for March 17. The electoral body stated that 284,327 individuals are eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections, including 139,165 women and 145,162 men. It is also 1,523 more than the number of eligible voters in last year's presidential election. Notably, a total of 282,804 individuals were deemed eligible to cast their ballots during the second round of the presidential election.