Male’, Maldives – The President of Election Comission (EC), Ahmed Shareef states that the Local Council elections cannot be held until the State of Public Health Emergency is abolished.
While speaking to local media, Shareef informed that he is not intending to postpone or cancel the elections yet and that preparations are still ongoing to hold the elections on March 6th or 13th of 2021.
However, Shareef noted that the State of Public Health Emergency is still in effect and for this reason, he cannot guarantee whether the elections will be held for sure in March 2021.
It is for sure that we cannot hold the elections until the State of Public Health Emergency is abolished.
Shareef stated.
Shareef had previously informed that while HPA stated that they are not sure about when the State of Public Health Emergency in Maldives will be abolished, the preparation for elections can still be continued if the Health Protection Agency (HPA) gives approval to do it at the latest by December 15.
On December 06, the government of Maldives had extended the State of Public Health Emergency in the country for the 10th time since the Covid-19 outbreak on March in the capital city, Male’ till January 4th of 2021.
Till date, the country has confirmed a total of 13,558 confirmed Covid-19 cases of which only 492 active cases are remaining. While 13,011 people have completely recovered from the virus in Maldives, 48 people have passed away from it. The recovery rate of Maldives is currently at 95%.
