The Elections Commission has opened the applications for candidates interested in running in the upcoming parliamentary elections.
The Electoral Watchdog said that the applications for candidacy would be open until the 14th of next month. The Commission is working to hold the elections on the 17th of March.
The Vice President of the Commission Ismail Habeeb said that candidates can collect and submit application forms from the Election Commission Center established at Dharubaaru ge between 09:00 a.m. to 02:00 p.m. every day except on Fridays. He said that on Friday the counters would be open from 02:00 p.m. to 04:00 p.m.
Habeeb said that application fees would only be collected via POS machines with ATM cards and that the Election would not accept cash.
Touching on the amendments that may be brought to the Elections Act, Ismail said that there is a chance that the change might mean that the Elections Commission has to delay the Parliamentary Elections.
He said that the Elections Commission is committed to holding polls as per the law and will accommodate any changes brought to the law.
The current election date falls on the 6th day of Ramadan and this has prompted the main opposition party MDP to submit an amendment to the Parliament which prohibits the Electoral Watch from holding any elections during the holy month of Ramadan.
