ECM Announces Referendum Question on Joint Elections

The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has announced the finalised question for the public referendum on the proposed eighth amendment to the Constitution, on whether to hold parliamentary and presidential elections together.

In a gazetted notice issued today, the ECM said it received the question following Presidential Decree No. (2/2026), issued in accordance with Article 262(b)(2) of the Constitution and the Public Referendum Act (Law No. 15/2025).

Voters will be asked: “Do you agree with the ratification of the ‘8th Amendment to the Constitution Bill’, passed by Parliament, which provides for holding presidential and parliamentary elections together and defines the method for calculating the terms of parliamentarians?”

https://t.co/WOgu7W3fku pic.twitter.com/xGkg69rHyK— Elections Commission (@ElectionsMv) March 17, 2026

The President is required to seek public consent through a referendum before ratifying the bill.

The vote is scheduled for Saturday, 4 April 2026, and will take place from 08:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.. The referendum will be held alongside the 2026 Local Council Elections and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) Elections.

The ECM said the voter registry and polling stations will be the same as those used for the council and WDC elections. Vote counting will begin 30 minutes after polls close, with official results to be announced in accordance with electoral procedures.

Under the General Regulations on Elections, voting hours cannot be changed unless a natural disaster or other uncontrollable event occurs.

Additionally, the 8th Amendment states that elections for members of the parliament shall be held simultaneously with the presidential election under Article 110 of the Constitution. Following the expiration of the term and dissolution of the sitting parliament, the first session of the newly elected parliament shall convene on 1 December. The term of the parliament shall be five years, starting from 1 December, after which the parliament will be dissolved.

Meanwhile, ECM President Mohamed Zahid has urged voters to follow instructions carefully when casting their ballots. Speaking on the Raajje Miadhu programme on Public Service Media (PSM) on Friday, he said only ballots marked with a “tick” will be considered valid.

“Votes with a cross to indicate a negative answer will not be considered valid,” he said.

Zahid added that voters will receive three separate ballot papers for the local council, WDC, and referendum elections, which must be placed in three different ballot boxes.

“The [voters] will have to pay close attention to the instructions provided by the officials at the ballot box; we implore the voters to do so,” he said.