Overseas Voting Not Held as Re-Registration Numbers Fall Short

The Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has announced that no ballot boxes will be placed in any foreign country for the upcoming election, as the number of voters who re-registered abroad did not meet the required threshold.

ECM had earlier indicated that polling stations might be established in Malaysia and the Maldives for overseas voters. However, the decision was later revised after assessing the final re-registration figures.

More than 26,000 people have re-registered to vote in the upcoming local council elections and the referendum on merging the presidential and parliamentary elections, the commission said on Tuesday.

The deadline for re-registration for the 4 April polls expired at 3.00 pm on Monday. ECM revealed 26,454 people completed re-registration before the deadline.

ECM said the number of re-registrations was insufficient to justify the placement of ballot boxes in foreign countries, leading the commission to decide against conducting overseas voting for this election.

ECM added that 21 resorts recorded enough re-registrations to justify the placement of ballot boxes for voters staying or working in those locations.

ECM further stated that more than 26,000 people re-registered for the upcoming polls, compared with around 13,000 re-registrations for the parliamentary election held last year. The re-registration process was opened to allow voters to cast ballots at locations other than their registered parliamentary polling areas.