The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has announced that as of February 9, a total of 15 individuals have submitted their application forms to contest in the upcoming parliamentary election.
The opportunity to submit applications for the parliamentary election was initiated by ECM on January 30 last year, with the deadline set for February 14 until 1400hrs.
In a post on X, Vice President of ECM Ismail Habeeb revealed that out of the 15 submissions, 14 applications have been officially accepted by the commission, while one proposal was rejected. He also emphasised the importance of early submission, cautioning against waiting until the last minute, as doing so may not allow adequate time to address any potential issues.
ECM facilitated the process by making the necessary forms available for submission in January. The commission also decided to recognise criminal records completed by the Department of Judicial Administration (DJA) and the Maldives Correctional Service (MCS) after December 14 of last year.
The parliamentary election is scheduled for March 17 this year. However, the date may change if the proposed amendment to the Elections General Act, currently under consideration by Parliament, is enacted. ECM affirmed that regardless of any changes to the election date, the deadline for application submissions will remain unchanged, with all election-related matters to be finalised prior to the month of Ramadan.