Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has so far confirmed that ballot boxes can be placed in four countries for the presidential election.
ECM has decided to place ballot boxes in countries with at least 150 registered voters. The electoral body opportunity for online re-registration at the end of August 2, after which, voters will have to submit physical forms until August 5.
ECM stated that it has so far confirmed that ballot boxes can be placed in Malaysia, the United Kingdom, as well as in Trivandrum in India and Colombo in Sri Lanka. The electoral body has not yet received enough registration forms to confirm the placement of ballot boxes in Singapore, Thailand, Abu Dhabi, and Japan.
ECM has decided to place over 600 ballot boxes for the presidential election, with 187 ballot boxes to be placed in Male' and 397 boxes to be placed in the atolls. ECM plans to place ballot boxes at various resorts, subject to certain conditions being met, including a minimum of 30 registered voters at each location. The electoral body 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.
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.