Over 26,000 Re-Registered for Upcoming Elections and Referendum

The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has announced that 26,454 individuals have completed re-registration for the upcoming local council elections, Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections and the public referendum scheduled for 4 April.

The re-registration period was open from 18 to 22 February, allowing voters to register for a ballot box outside their island of residency. The Commission stated that sufficient registrations were received to establish ballot boxes at 21 resorts, although the numbers were insufficient to facilitate ballot boxes abroad.

ECM Member Hassan Zakariyya said 22,000 individuals re-registered during the first phase of voting, using the same opportunity provided in previous elections.

He explained that re-registration was available from the end of the parliamentary elections, adding that most individuals were required to remain registered at their location of residence at that time, except for specific groups such as industrial workers, inmates, resort employees and overseas residents. He estimated that more than 90,000 voters could eventually cast ballots from locations other than their registered residency.

Six political parties are contesting the election, with 2,960 candidates competing for 626 island council seats and 52 city council seats. An equal number of Women’s Development Committee members will also be elected.

The candidates include members of the People’s National Congress (1,322 candidates), Maldivian Democratic Party (905 candidates), Jumhooree Party (15 candidates), Maldives Development Alliance (57 candidates), Adhaalath Party (9 candidates), and 644 independent candidates. There are 294,937 eligible voters, including 144,527 women and 150,410 men. The final voter registry will be released after the re-registration period is completed.

The Commission has emphasised the importance of raising public awareness ahead of the referendum on the proposal to conduct presidential and parliamentary elections concurrently.

The proposed constitutional amendment would allow the two national elections to be held at the same time and would define the parliamentary term structure. The amendment bill was passed by the People’s Majlis on 10 February 2026 during the second sitting of the first parliamentary session of the year.