Turnout Nears Half as 131,900 Cast Ballots by 2 PM, ECM Reports

Over 131,900 people had cast their ballots by 2:00 p.m. in the nationwide elections today, the Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) said.

The commission reported that 131,947 voters, or 44.75 per cent of eligible voters, had participated by that time. This included 63,175 women and 68,772 men, while 162,929 people, or 55.25 per cent, had not yet voted.

Since 12:00 p.m., a further 69,864 voters have cast their ballots.

​​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.