The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has printed a total of 285,631 ballot papers in preparation for the upcoming second round of the presidential election.
A total of 282,804 eligible voters, including 409 newly registered voters, are included in the voters' list. The 285,631 ballot papers printed by the ECM for the second round is an increase of 412 ballots in comparison to the 285,219 ballot papers printed for the first round of the election. ECM is currently in the process of organising and packaging the printed ballot papers. The regulations require that each ballot box receive a surplus of ballot papers, exceeding the actual number of voters by 1%. ECM is scheduled to commence the distribution of the registered voter lists and the ballot papers to various islands on September 27.
The second round of the presidential election is scheduled to be held on September 30. A second round became necessary as none of the candidates received 50% of the votes to win in the first round. The two candidates who moved on to the second round are Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, the candidate of the opposition People's National Congress (PNC), and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the candidate of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).