Gov’t Declares Sunday and Monday Public Holidays Following Elections

The Government of the Maldives has declared tomorrow and Monday as public holidays following today’s nationwide elections.

In a press release, the President’s Office said the Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) had requested the holidays, noting that a large number of civil servants and government institutions were involved in the elections. The ECM also requested Monday as a holiday to allow staff to complete post-election work and follow-up tasks.

The ECM oversaw the Local Council elections, Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections, and the public referendum. The referendum sought 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.

A total of 294,876 people were eligible to vote, including 144,506 women and 150,370 men. Polling stations began closing at 5:00 p.m., an hour later than initially planned. The commission had extended voting hours due to long queues and extreme heat. Voting hours will not be extended further, and vote counting is set to begin 30 minutes after polling stations close, in line with regulations.

ECM said 518 out of the 588 polling stations were closed as of 6:28 pm.