President of Elections Commission, Fuad Thaufeeq has stated that the Presidential Election of 2023, is expected to see an eligible voting population of 280,000.
He made the remarks while speaking at the 'Falasurukhee' program of RaajjeTV.
Speaking at the program, Fuad stated that number of people who will be eligible for voting, by turning the age of 18 is expected to reach 20,000.
Fuad also stated that the commission will open for reregistration as well. As such, he noted that reregistration will be opened around July.
He highlighted that changes will come to the voters list.
Fuad went on to say that the commission expects see around 800 voted boxes for this election. As such, he noted that vote boxes will be kept in resorts where more than 50 people register to vote and vote boxes will be kept in jails if 25 or more people register to vote.
The commission will be keeping vote boxes in countries, where more than 150 Maldivians, who are eligible and willing to voting are registered in. He said that boxes will not be kept in countries with less than 150 registered voters.
Furthermore, Fuad said that the most number of voters for one box will be 800. He went on to say that if there are more than 800 people to vote, more than one box will be kept in the area.
Fuad went on to say that discussions about where to keep the boxes are currently ongoing.
Fuad also stated that the vote papers used will be of high quality and that the commission will make sure that the vote papers can not be duplicated.
Elections Commission has earlier stated that the 2023 Presidential election will most likely be held on early September.
Speaking to RaajjeMV, Vice President of the commission, Ismail Habeeb said that that the exact date for the election will be decided in the upcoming week.
Habeeb stated that the commission will hold a press briefing on 15 January, once a date for the election has been decided. The date is to be decided during the commission meeting, that is scheduled to be held on 11 January.
The Election Commission on 2022, started discussions with the relevant authorities to ensure a smooth election. The commission has also started awareness programs for the public, regarding the presidential election.
Political parties of the country have also started their campaigns for the upcoming presidential election. As such, opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) have announced that their candidate for the 2023 election is former president Abdulla Yameen. However, with the latest verdict that was brought against him by the Criminal Court, he is not an eligible candidate, according to the Maldivian constitution.
The ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is currently getting ready to hold their primary election to decide on a presidential candidate for the party. As such, former President Mohamed Nasheed and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih are taking part in the primary election.
MDP's primary election is scheduled to be held on 28 January.
President of the Maldives National Party (MNP), and the member of parliament for Dhangethi constituency, Mohamed Nazim has also announced his interest in taking part in the 2023 Presidential Election.
