EC: Current situation does not warrant a postponement of council elections

Elections Commission (EC), on Wednesday, said the COVID-19 situation is Maldives had yet to warrant a postponement to the local council elections scheduled for April 4.

At the meeting of the national advisory committee on Wednesday morning, Chairman of EC, Ahmed Shareef said that the commission lacked the legal authority to postpone any election, and that the authority to change the date of a scheduled election lay with the courts.

Many have demanded a postponement to the council elections following the emergence of COVID-19 cases in Maldives, which now stands at eight. The eight people who have tested positive are all foreign nationals. Four are from Kuredu, two from Sandies Bathala, and two from Kuramathi.

With respect to the demands for a postponement to the elections, Shareef said that none of the commission members believed the current situation was serious enough to warrant a postponement to the election.

Shareef said that EC would request the court for an advisory opinion if such a situation arose, but that the current situation did not warrant such a move.

“There is no conflict of opinion among the five members of the Elections Commission regarding this, Maldives is not facing such a situation [to warrant a postponement]. The members of the commission unanimously agree that the situation does not warrant requesting the court for an advisory opinion,” said Shareef.

Shareef said EC had already spent one-third of the budget allocated to it to hold the elections, and that a postponement to the elections would require an additional MVR 20 – 30 million.

Noting that all COVID-19 cases had come from tourist resorts, Shareef said EC had yet to decide on voting opportunities for voters registered to resorts which have been locked down over virus fears.

EC has also discussed the polling stations in countries outside of Maldives which are experiencing COVID-19 outbreaks with the national advisory committee, but has yet to reach a decision.