The Parliament of the Maldives has passed the bill to extend the period provided to submit candidacies to contest the presidential election. The bill was passed with 48 votes in favour.
The amendment bill to the Presidential Elections Act was submitted by Parliamentarian Ibrahim Shareef on behalf of the government. The bill seeks to extend the period given to submit candidacies from 10 days to 14 days.
The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has already announced that it will open to submit candidacies from July 23 to August 3 in accordance with the existing law. However, candidates will soon be provided with 14 days to submit their candidacies.
The presidential election is scheduled to be held on September 9 and a possible second round will be held on September 30. ECM is currently working on finalising the voters' list and determining the locations to place the ballot boxes.