It has come to light that the local council elections that were to be held in March, may not be held then after all.
The elections were originally planned for April 2020. However, due to the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Elections Commission (EC) was forced to reschedule the elections, with laws also passed to facilitate the postponement.
The law passed regarding the postponement of the elections stipulates that the elections can only be held once the State of Public Health Emergency in the Maldives was brought to an end. The law also states that the election is to be held if a state institution determines that it would not pose a risk to public health.
While the Health Protection Agency (HPA) did not guarantee that the State of Public Health Emergency could be ended by March, the aforementioned law also stipulates that the election is to be held within one year of passing the laws. This means that, according to the law, March will be the deadline to hold the elections at the latest.
Full details are available at the link below:
