EC: Ballot boxes to be kept in countries with 150 local voters

Elections Commissioner has announced that ballot boxes will be kept in countries where a consulate is located with 150 registered voters for the upcoming local council elections.

Speaking at the “Fala Surukhee” program of Raajje TV last night, vice president of Elections Commission Ahmed Akram stated that the chance for Maldivians living abroad to take part in the local council elections were open this time as well.

“We will establish a ballot box in every country, provided that there is a consulate and 150 registered voters. For instance, we will place a ballot box if there are 150 registered voters in New Delhi or Trivandrum, India.” said Akram.

Akram also said ballot boxes will be kept in prisons if there were 25 or more registered voters.

“If there are 50 registered voters in a resort, then we will place a ballot box in that resort as well. Unlike previous occasions, we will open the opportunity for all resorts to register.” said Akram.

Cities were designated for the elections according to the specifications in the Decentralization Act and constituencies in Male city were designated to include all citizens of Male’ city, according to Akram.

“The registry (Dhafthar) will be distributed to be adjusted to the missing number of voters. For instance, each constituency has around 4500 voters, the registry will be distributed accordingly to allocate voters to ech constituency. We will do this in a fair and equal manner. Meaning that if a constituency has around 4500 people, and the next constituency has 4200, only 300 people will be added to that constituency.

The Elections Commission is also considering utilizing a random counting system which will issue an automatic number to distribute the registry, according to Akram, who also stated that this has not yet been decided.

The local council election will be held on April 4, 2020.