The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has begun accepting applications for voter re-registration with the amendment to the Local Council Elections Act to hold by-elections for women's development committees (WDCs) once a year.
The amendment changed the previous article in the law requiring the ECM to hold a by-election within 60 days after a WDC member resigns. The amendment allows the ECM to hold an election within 365 days and states that by-elections should be held within 300-365 days of each other.
Elections must be held within 60 days if members of women's committees resign, according to the law. However, with the current change to the law, an election of women's development committees will have to be held within 365 days. As such, the ECM will be holding by-elections on June 17 for 10 WDCs. The opportunity to re-register voters in these islands is open until May 13 and registration forms should be submitted through the re-registration portal or at the ECM headquarters in Male' City.
The amendment to the Local Council Elections Act was ratified to address the concerns of ECM over having to hold back-to-back by-elections for WDCs as members resign from their posts. The electoral body revealed that USD240,000 has been spent on by-elections for local councils and WDCs in the past two years. The amendment is expected to significantly reduce the state expenditure on holding back-to-back elections.