When is the Presidential Election going to be held?
The Presidential Election will be held on Saturday, 7 September 2013. This is the second multi-party presidential election to be held in the Maldives. The first was held in 2008.
Who administers the election?
The Elections Commission of the Maldives, which is an independent statutory body appointed by and answerable to the Parliament, administers the election. The Election Commission has announced that the voting booths will open at 7:30am and close at 4pm, or when everyone who had lined up to vote before 4pm finishes voting.
How many eligible voters are there?
There are 239,593 eligible voters in this election.
Who are the candidates?
The four candidates contesting in this second multi-party election are:
Candidate Number One: Qasim Ibrahim from Jumhooree Party (JP)
Candidate Number Two: Mohamed Waheed as an independent candidate.
Candidate Number three: Abdullah Yamin Abdul Gayoom from Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM)
Candidate Number Four: Mohamed Nasheed from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)
How is the campaigning going?
All candidates have been campaigning vigorously around the country and it has been peaceful. As per the regulations set by the Elections Commission for the presidential elections, the official campaign period will end on Friday, 6th September 2013 at 6pm.
How is the winner decided?
To win the election, a candidate needs to receive 50% plus one vote of all the votes cast. If no candidate receives the majority, a run-off will be held between the two candidates with the highest number of votes. In the event of a run-off, it would be held on Saturday, 28 September 2013.
How many ballot boxes will be set up?
The Elections Commission has confirmed that 470 ballot boxes will be placed for the Presidential Elections.
· 48 boxes in Male', for residents of Male'
· 62 boxes in Male' for residents of other islands living in Male'
· 304 boxes in inhabited islands
· 40 boxes in resort islands
· 4 boxes in industrial islands
· 5 boxes in prisons
· 7 boxes overseas (Colombo, Sri Lanka; New Delhi and Thiruvananthapuram, India; Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia; London, UK; and Singapore.)
What are the timings for Ballot boxes placed abroad?
The Elections Commission has announced that 7 ballot boxes will be placed abroad to allow Maldivians living oversees to cast their vote.
India, Trivandrum:0800 hrs -1630 hrs
India, New Delhi: 0800 hrs -1630 hrs
Sri Lanka, Colombo:0800 hrs -1630 hrs
London:0900 hrs -1730 hrs
Malaysia: 1030 hrs -1900 hrs
Singapore: 1030-1900
*The timings indicated above are the local time of the respective country.
How will the credibility of the elections be ensured?
In order to ensure the credibility of the election, the Elections Commission and the Government have invited officials from political parties, civil society, friendly governments and international organisations to observe the election.
There will be a total of 2,328 observers out of which 102 are international. They include observers from Australia, India, Japan, Malaysia, Pakistan, Thailand, USA, EU and the Commonwealth. The local observers, numbering 2,217 are from local NGOs such as Transparency Maldives and Maldives Democracy Network, political parties, and independent commissions including the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives and Anti Corruption Commission. Additionally 1,660 monitors (from media) will also be active during the Elections including; 1,635 local monitors and 25 foreign monitors.
How will complaints be dealt with?
The Elections Commission has established a National Complaints Bureau allowing people to submit complaints on various aspects of the election. The timings and the contact details of the Bureau can be accessed via Elections Commissions Website. www.elections.gov.mv
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has set up a 24 hour hotline to address queries and in cases of emergencies. The number is +9607794601.
ENDS.