The Ministry of Home Affairs has amended the registration rules for the Maldives Media Council (MMC) elections.
Members of MMC are appointed with votes from online media outlets. As per the rules, all registered online media outlets in the Maldives will have the opportunity to vote in the election. The statistics from the home ministry show the number of registered outlets is more than 200.
Concerns have been expressed about the participation in the vote to appoint members as part of the efforts to ensure that the MMC is free from influence. According to the amendment, newspapers, magazines, and broadcasters that are not publishing regularly for at least one year prior to the date of announcement of the MMC election will not have the opportunity to participate in the election. As such, newspapers, magazines, and broadcasters registered between the date of the announcement of the election and six months prior to that date are eligible. In addition, the outlets that do not have to register to vote in the elections include newspapers, magazines, and broadcasters registered under the responsibility of state-owned companies and state institutions, except for media outlets under the Public Service Media (PSM).
The provisional list of registered voters will be announced at least 18 days before the election day and complaints can be submitted within 24 hours. In addition, after considering the complaints submitted, a permanent list of registered voters will be announced at least 15 days before the scheduled date of the election.
MMC is legally empowered to regulate online media in the Maldives. The council has a total of eight members whose term expires every two years. The last time the council was appointed was in 2020 and the term expires in November this year.