Tag: council elections

Elections Commission faces “major challenges” over “lack of funds”

The Elections Commission announced yesterday (May 8 ) that it was facing “major challenges” preparing for the upcoming elections due to a “lack of funds”.

Elections Commission Member Ali Mohamed Manik told local media the commission requires over MVR 80 million (US$ 5,232,160) to hold the upcoming elections.

The EC has meanwhile declared it will publish the voter registry in the government gazette later this month, reports local media.

Manik also announced that the voter registry is almost fully updated and the commission plans to publish the list May 21, so to give the public an opportunity to verify the information and file complaints if revisions are needed.

Regarding ballot box placement, Manik said that there will be 556 ballot boxes for the presidential election, 355 in the atolls, 55 at resorts, while the remainder will be divided between Male’, industrial islands, and prisons.

Manik also urged voters registered in Male’ Dhaftharu – a special registry for people who are Male’ residents, but are from other islands – to provide the Elections Commission with their current addresses as soon as possible.

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Court action may postpone Addu Atoll city council elections

Planned elections to appoint a city council to serve Addu Attoll will be postponed if court action taken by some MPs to revoke the decision to treat the region a single city is successful, Haveeru has reported.

President Mohamed Nasheed has said that if the Civil Court moves to reverse the decision announced back in October to make Addu Atoll’s islands individual wards of a single city, elections would be postponed, according to the paper.

The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) reportedly filed the case over concerns that the president may not be authorised to award city status to Addu on the grounds that the atoll may not appease the requirements outlined under the country’s Decentralisation Act.

However, Nasheed has said that the Addu city decision was made after consultation with government and opposition parties.

“I didn’t decide to give city status to Addu after waking up one morning,” he was quoted as saying in Haveeru.

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