Friday
22nd Nov 2024
Dhivehi Edition
The Elections Commission has stated that the upcoming Komandoo constituency bi-election would be held on 5 February, as scheduled, regardless of the intensity or spread of Covid-19.
Ismail Habeeb, the Commission's Vice President, told The Maldives Journal that the law mandated the Elections Commission to elect replacements for seats within 60 days of being vacated. He said that the Elections Commission did not have the power to delay the elections.
He said that the elections could only be delayed if Parliament were to amend the law.
"This is not something that Elections Commission has any power over. We are mandated to elect a replacement within a set duration of time. Therefore, the election would be held as previously scheduled", he said.
The Majlis had decided to delay the Local Council Election due to the spike in Covid-19 cases last year.
The Komandoo constituency's seat was vacated after MP Hussain Waheed (MDP-Komandoo) died of cancer last month.
The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), and the newly-formed Maldivian National Party (MNP) are all contesting for the Komandoo seat.
Given the sudden spike of Covid-19 cases, the Health Protection Agency (HPA) has announced new restrictions; travel from Male to the islands without a negative PCR test and gatherings of 50 people or more have been prohibited.