More Than 41,000 Cast Votes by 10AM, ECM Reports

More than 41,000 people had cast their ballots by 10:00 a.m. in today’s nationwide elections, according to the Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM).

The commission said 41,162 voters, or 13.96 percent of eligible voters, had participated by that time. This included 16,166 women and 24,996 men. A total of 253,714 people, or 80.04 percent, had not yet voted.

​​Although voting was scheduled to begin at 8:00 a.m., delays meant some ballot boxes opened later, and the ECM confirmed that polling at all stations commenced at 9:32 a.m.. Polls are scheduled to remain open until 4:00 p.m.

A total of 294,876 people are eligible to vote, including 144,506 women and 150,370 men.

The ECM is overseeing the local council elections, Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections and the public referendum. The referendum seeks public opinion on whether to support the President ratifying the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution Bill, passed by parliament on 10 February 2026. The proposed amendment would align parliamentary elections with presidential elections and revise the method for calculating parliamentary terms.