The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has stated that 45 individuals with visual impairments used templates during the first round of the presidential election.
ECM stated that the first round of voting in the presidential election was conducted with necessary arrangements to facilitate visually impaired individuals to visit polling stations and independently cast their votes while preserving their privacy. These individuals used plastic templates for voting.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has ratified the third amendment bill to the Elections General Act, which 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.
ECM stated that enabling the visually impaired to vote with the use of plastic template sheets is an improvement in the electoral system and an important step towards guaranteeing the right to vote for everyone. International observers have also acknowledged that visually impaired individuals are now legally empowered to participate in the voting process.
Furthermore, ECM has conducted awareness programmes for visually impaired individuals in several atolls before the elections, with a particular focus on Haa Dhaalu, Alifu Dhaalu, and Gaafu Dhaalu Atolls, where the highest number of visually impaired individuals reside.