Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has announced that 23 resorts will have the opportunity to apply for setting up ballot boxes for the upcoming presidential election until the end of the month.
The decision to extend the opportunity aims to facilitate more Maldivian resort workers in exercising their right to vote. ECM plans to place 78 ballot boxes at various resorts, subject to certain conditions being met, including a minimum of 30 registered voters at each location.
Vice President of ECM Ismail Habeeb said that 23 resorts have yet to apply for ballot boxes for the presidential election. To accommodate these resorts, the deadline for applications has been extended, providing them with the chance to submit their requests. If enough re-registration forms from eligible voters are received by July 31 to meet the criteria of 30 voters per resort, they will be allowed to set up polling stations accordingly.
ECM has decided to place 604 ballot boxes for the presidential election. ECM stated that 61 ballot boxes will be placed for residents of Male’ City, 77 boxes will be placed for atoll residents living in Male’ City, and 13 boxes will be placed in eight countries. The electoral body also stated that the locations of polling stations may change depending on the changes to the number voters registered to the locations, adding that the number of ballot boxes may also change after the re-registration process.
ECM will also be placing 39 ballot boxes in Hulhumale’, 10 boxes in Villimale’, 319 boxes in the atolls, 78 in resorts, and five in prisons. The electoral body will also place 13 ballot boxes abroad in India, Malaysia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, the United Kingdom, Thailand, United Arab Emirates, and Japan.
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 established its main headquarters for the election at Dharubaaruge' convention centre.