Election Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has decided to extend voting hours for the upcoming parliamentary election, scheduled to take place on April 21. The decision was finalised in a meeting held within the commission.
Previously, voting hours were allocated from 0800hrs to 1600hrs, with the voting queue to be closed sharp at 1600hrs, as per the instructions given by ECM. However, during the meeting held with the National Advisory Committee, ECM was recommended to extend voting hours. Following the meeting, the voting hours have been extended to 1730hrs. Therefore, the allocated time period for voting is between 0800hrs and 1730hrs. Officials will start counting votes 30 minutes after the ballot boxes are closed.
ECM's Member Hassan Zakariyya the decision was made after taking the forecasted weather into consideration. The decision aims to prevent any difficulties individuals may face due to unfavourable weather conditions or other such reasons. With 284,663 eligible voters, a total of 602 ballot boxes will be placed to accommodate the parliamentary election, which sees 368 candidates contesting for seats across 93 constituencies.