President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified the third amendment bill to the Elections General Act to implement procedures enabling visually impaired voters to mark their ballots independently. The Parliament passed the amendment bill on June 19.
The amendment bill proposed to amend Section 45(b) and insert a new section. The new amendment will come into effect in the upcoming presidential election. The amendment bill was proposed by Parliamentarian Jeehan Mahmood after the Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Gender held a meeting with the Blind and Visually Impaired Society of the Maldives to discuss protecting ballots cast by persons with visual impairments.
The bill proposed solutions to allow visually impaired persons to cast their votes by themselves to maintain secrecy. The bill allows for the use of a plastic template sheet over the ballot paper with boxes cut out to make it easier for visually impaired persons to cast their vote. It also allows them to use a transparent plastic device that can be inserted into the ballot paper or temporarily attached to the top of the ballot paper.
The bill further stated that the Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) will be responsible for formulating policies and making the necessary arrangements to enable visually impaired persons to use plastic templates. Visually impaired persons are also required to place their ballot paper in the ballot box with the paper folded so as not to compromise the secrecy of the vote.
Furthermore, President Solih also ratified the fourth amendment bill to the Presidential Elections Act. The Parliament passed the amendment bill on June 19. The amendment bill proposed to amend Section 5(d) of the legislation, proposing to extend the presidential candidature filing window from 10-14 days. The act has now been enacted following its ratification and publication in the Government Gazette.
The presidential election will be held on September 9 and a possible second round would be held on September 30. The main headquarters for the election has been established at Dharubaaruge' convention centre.