Party candidates endorse voters

All political party candidates have signed their relevant voters’ lists for the 22 March parliamentary election, the Elections Commission has said.

Commission Bureau Director and Media Official Mohamed Shakeel said all party candidates completed signing the voters' lists by the 12:00 noon deadline today (Sunday). However, some independent candidates declined to sign the lists, he said.

Following a Supreme Court guideline upon the Elections Commission, issued after the annulment of the first round of the 2013 presidential election, the commission is required to seek the signature of each competing candidate and to have them endorse the relevant constituency voters' lists before going to the polls.

Political parties will field 188 candidates alongside 114 independents, who will compete for a total of 85 seats in the upcoming parliamentary election.