The Election Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has revealed efforts are underway to allocate parts of the Radio Building of Public Service Media (PSM) as the main centre for the presidential election to be held in September next year.
Speaking to PSM News Vice President of ECM Ismail Habeeb said the electoral body has requested to allocate part of the building for next year's presidential election. He said PSM has also informed that arrangements can be made to provide the building in January 2023 to be used as the election headquarters.
Noting preparations for the upcoming presidential election can only start when provided with a designated space, Habeeb said most crucial works related to elections will be shifted to the new premises. As such, he highlighted election registration, compliance bureau, training, and coordination tasks will be carried out in the new venue.
The electoral body used the former Jamaluddin School building as the headquarters in all the recent elections. However, the school building is being demolished to build a new building for the Arabiyya School.
The budget for next year has allocated USD5.8 million for the presidential election, but ECM said the amount will be insufficient if a second round needs to be held. ECM said an additional USD1.9 million will be needed for the second round.