According to the laws, if a seat in local councils and Women's Development Committees (WDC) becomes vacant, a by-election must be held to fill that vacancy.
However, the low voter turnout in the by-elections and general lack of interest among candidates, especially in the WDC elections, remains a major concern for the Election Commission of Maldives (ECM).
In an attempt to address the concerns, the government last year amended the relevant laws to hold by-elections for WDCs once a year and biannually for local councils. The amendment was designed to cut-down costs, address logistical challenges faced by both the EC and voters.
ECM announced the first by-election this year for 33 seats, including 28 vacancies in WDCs and five in local councils.
However, when the deadline expired for candidatures, EC only has to hold just 11 by-elections as the rest of the vacancies have been automatically filled with only one candidate expressing interest to contest.
Such lack of interest to be on the WDCs is quite common. But this time, Fainu Island Council President and Haa Dhaalu Atoll Council President have been elected without contest.
ECM Member Hassan Zakariyya said the lack of interest was a surprise, as the commission had hoped less frequent by-elections would inspire more candidates.
"We had also announced the post of Haa Dhaalu Atoll Council President. This is the third most populous Atoll in the country. However, the post of Haa Dhaalu Atoll President has gone to an auto-elect. A single candidate from one party has won the seat without an election. So overall, this by-election has not generated interest," Zakariyya explained.
He also noted that there was a lack of interest in political parties in the by-election, adding that the nomination period coinciding with the new year holidays might have been the reason.
There are five political parties in the country that are receiving state funds. They include are the two largest political parties in the country, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP and the People’s National Congress (PNC), as well as the Adhaalath Party, the Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA).
However, only the ruling PNC had nominated candidates for all seats in the upcoming by-elections.