Committee Urges 9 to 5 Voting Window for Parliamentary Elections

The National Advisory Committee has urged the Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) to schedule parliamentary elections from 9:00 am to 5:00 pm on March 17.

Owing to administrative and legal hurdles, the confirmed date for the parliamentary elections has been fixed for the second week of Ramadan.

While traditional voting booths typically open at 8:00 am, all political parties and institutions have proposed a delayed start at 09:00 am in consideration of the Ramadan period.

Committee members emphasised the significance of organizing voting times to allow all participants to return home in time to break their fast at maghrib prayer.

In response to concerns raised by the police, it was advised that closing voting booths at 5:00 pm would be ideal, as having the end of voting too close to maghrib time might lead to complications.

The ECM will make the final decision after carefully considering the advice provided by the committee, which also recommended against extending or altering the voting hours.

Ismail Habeeb, the Vice Chairman of the ECM, affirmed that a similar practice had been followed in previous elections and endorsed the suggestion.

Given that the scheduled date for parliamentary elections falls on an official working day, the ECM has formally requested the government to declare it a holiday to facilitate a higher voter turnout.