Voting for the Local Council Elections and Women's development committee elections has begun in the Maldives today after the elections were pushed back several times due to the ongoing pandemic.
Elections Commission President Mohamed Shareef had said there are a total of 713 ballot boxes around the country and that voting had now started at 518 ballot boxes.
He cited the delay to the lack of voters at some of the ballot boxes.
The Elections Commission had said that 273,128 people are eligible to cast their vote in this election and that so far 2718 people have voted.
It had said that this includes 756 women and 1962 men.
The much-delayed election is being held with several safety measures to deter the still-spreading COVID-19 pandemic.
This includes taking one's own pen for voting when going to cast their votes, as well as maintaining social distancing protocols while at the voting centers
The Elections Commission has also announced that it would allow those under isolation or quarantine due to COVID-19 to also take cast their votes in the election. It had set 05:00 pm to 06:00 pm as the time for such individuals to go to voting centers to cast their votes.
The Commission had urged such voters to abide by the rules set by the authorities and this includes returning to quarantine or isolation once their voting is completed. It also includes not using public transport when going or coming back from voting as well as always wearing facemasks and using hand sanitizer.
