Parliamentary Elections Cannot be Hastened or Delayed:EC

The date of the parliamentary elections cannot be hastened or delayed, the Elections Commission (EC) President, Fuwad Thowfeek has said.

While explaining the commission's preparations for the parliamentary elections to be as convenient as possible for the voters, he stated that the election date cannot be hastened or delayed without amending the law.

The law requires parliamentary elections to be declared 120 days before the end of the term. Therefore, the election was announced in January, with the election to be held on March 17 at the latest. March 17th is the 7th day of Ramadan.

The election was also discussed to be postponed beyond March 17, but it could not be done that way, according to Fuad. The last 10 days of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr are holidays and the election can not be held during the examination period of all schools, he said.

The Elections Commission tried to find the most convenient way for the people to hold the elections in Ramadan, he said. The last 10 days of Ramadan is a time for everyone to devote time to worship and the government has declared the last 10 days as a period of public holiday for that purpose, he said. As a result, the election must be held before this period.

The Elections Commission has decided to increase the number of polling stations to accommodate a maximum of 500 people per polling station. The commission believes that this change will shorten the queue of polling stations and make the voting process easier and faster.