Only 81 out of 464 lists have been signed by all candidates, says Elections Commission

Elections Commission has said that candidates have signed only 81 out of 464 voters’ lists for the Local Council Election scheduled for Saturday.

Speaking at a press conference this afternoon, President of Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeg said that 383 lists have not been signed by all candidates.

“Out of the lists for ballot boxes for the Local Council Election on Saturday, only 81 have been signed by all candidates. There will be a total of 464 lists or 464 ballot boxes, and 383 lists have not been signed by all candidates.”

Fuad said that it would not make sense to hold the election only for the 81 constituencies for which the lists have been signed, and that the commission had thus decided to proceed with its decision to hold the election on Saturday.

Fuad said that there are 543 independent candidates contesting in the election, and that only 147 of them have signed the lists.

He said that candidates of all parties except Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) have signed the lists, and that PPM has signed only 62 lists.

He went on to say that it is not possible to obtain the signatures of all candidates in Local Council Elections. He highlighted that some candidates have refused to sign the lists, and said that the commission cannot force any candidate to sign the lists.

Fuad said that if the election has to be postponed because candidates fail to sign voters’ lists, it would result in serious losses for the State and the people of the Maldives. He said that if the Local Council Election is delayed, the Parliamentary Election will consequently have to be delayed.