Elections Commission says it would hold the much-delayed Local Council Elections on the 10th of April this year.
Speaking at a meeting held today, the President of the Elections Commission Ahmed Shareef said as per the first amendment to the Local Council Elections Special Provision Act 2020 passed by the parliament on the 19th of January, the elections must be held no later than the 9th of May.
He said the commission has no power to delay the elections beyond this date and that it had to go back to the parliament in order to further delay the elections.
Shareef also said that all those competing in the elections can begin campaigning for the polls but only as per the guideline set by the authorities on campaigning amid the on-going COVID-19 pandemic. He added that the commission would reveal deadlines for candidates to take back their names from the polls on Saturday.
Meanwhile, Vice President of the Commission Ismail Habeeb said that the commission was monitoring whether all the candidates are getting equal opportunities to campaign.
This comes after the opposition coalition protested outside of the Commission building yesterday, demanding quick polls and equal opportunities for campaigning for all sides. Several top leaders from the opposition coalition were arrested from yesterday's protests including the acting leader of the coalition Abdul Raheem (Adurey).
Police later released those arrested at yesterday's protest while the opposition-held more protests last night too.
