Malé, Maldives – President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has declared April 11 and 12 as public holidays.
According to the Presidents Office, April 11, 2021 was declared a public holiday reflecting on the large number of civil servants who will be involved at polling stations nationwide to manage the Local Council Election (LCE) scheduled for Saturday, April 10, 2021.
April 12, 2021 as a public holiday if the 1st of Ramadan 1442 falls on Tuesday, 13th April 2021.
The Local Council Election was originally supposed to be held on 4 April 2020, but due to the alarming increase of Covid-19 cases in Maldives, the country had gone into a lockdown, and the election was delayed by a year to 10 April 2021.
The Parliament had to pass a special bill due to the implications of Covid-19 in the elections, and this bill is to be followed for all incoming elections.
While the upcoming Local Council Elections (LCE) and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections will be held according to the guidelines given by the Health Protection Agency (HPA), this time more ballot boxes would be places in different areas as the HPA guidelines does not allow people to travel from one island to another.
The voters will also be required to adhere to guidelines such as maintaining social distancing and wearing masks. Elections Commission had previously told that due to the added measures taken in accordance with HPA guidelines, the duration of voting and vote counting is expected to increase.
