All 585 Ballot Boxes Closed, Vote Counting Underway, ECM Confirms

Voting in all 585 ballot boxes across the Maldives had closed by 10:35 pm, the Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) said, with vote counting now underway at all stations.

Earlier in the evening, as of 8:45 pm, voting was still taking place at four polling stations, despite the official closing time of 5:00 pm. The ECM had extended voting by an hour due to difficulties faced by citizens standing in long queues amid extreme heat, with “feels like” temperatures ranging from 36.1°C to 38.4°C.

The ECM oversaw the Local Council elections, Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections, and a public referendum today. The referendum asked voters whether they supported the President ratifying the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution Bill, passed by parliament on 10 February 2026. The amendment proposes to align parliamentary elections with presidential elections and revise the method for calculating parliamentary terms.

A total of 294,876 people were eligible to vote, including 144,506 women and 150,370 men. Preliminary results show greater support for not ratifying the Eighth Amendment, while candidates from the Maldivian Democratic Party are projected to win all mayoral seats in the Maldives.