The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has stated that voters will be allowed to mark their ballot paper using blue or black pens and that papers marked with other colours will be invalid.
At a press conference, Vice President of ECM Ismail Habeeb addressed the concerns voiced by political parties regarding potential situations that may undermine the electoral process. He said that the National Advisory Committee on Elections has made decisions to ensure the secrecy of the vote, which include only allowing voters to use normal blue or black pens to mark their ballot paper. He added that voters are not required to bring their own pen, as pens will be available at the polling stations.
Additionally, Habeeb said ballot papers will be invalid if they are marked more than once or if marked with any symbol other than a check mark. The ballot papers will also be invalid if they have been marked with drawings.
Furthermore, Habeeb said that voting booths will be placed in a way that will be visible to officials, observers, and monitors from behind the voters, which is in contrast to the local election, during which the voting booths were visible from the front. The change was made to ensure the secrecy of the vote.