Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has opened the opportunity for voters in islands other than their resident island to re-register online for the upcoming presidential election.
The opportunity to re-register is open from July 16 to August 5, which is a three-week window. However, the opportunity for online re-registration will close on July 31, after which, voters will have to submit physical forms until August 5.
Forms can be submitted to Dharubaaruge' convention centre, the main headquarters of ECM, or focal points in the atolls. In addition, an individual is limited to submitting 10 forms at a time for online re-registration but a political party or an official institution can submit 100 forms at a time with their stamp and an official letter.
ECM introduced online re-registration to enhance convenience and accessibility and facilitate an easier registration process for the general public. The electoral body stated that individuals who re-registered to vote in the 2020 local council elections will not need to go through the re-registration process again for the upcoming presidential elections.
Additionally, ECM stated that 18 complaints have been submitted regarding the permanent voters’ list for the presidential election and the electoral body has decided to publish the final list this week after responding to the complaints.
The presidential election is scheduled to be held on September 9 and a possible second round will be held on September 30. The eligible voting population for the presidential election is 282,672 voters and ECM has decided to place 604 ballot boxes for the election.