Vote Counting Underway in Maldives Nationwide Elections

Vote counting has begun in today’s nationwide elections in the Maldives.

Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) said as of 6:28 p.m., 518 of the 588 polling stations had closed. While vote counting has started, some polling stations remain open, including those at Aminiya School as of 6:30 p.m.

Citing the need to complete follow-up tasks, the President’s Office approved a request from the ECM and declared tomorrow and Monday as public holidays.

The ECM oversaw the Local Council elections, Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections, and a public referendum. The referendum asked citizens 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. Polling stations began closing at 5:00 p.m., an hour later than initially planned, after voting hours were extended due to long queues and extreme heat. Voting hours will not be extended further, and counting is being conducted in line with regulations, beginning 30 minutes after polling stations close.