Presidential candidacy to open from July 23-August 7

Elections Commission (EC) states that candidacy for the upcoming presidential election will open on July 23.

EC’s vice chairman Ismail Habeeb announced in a tweet on Saturday that candidacy for the presidential election will be open from July 23 to August 7.

The announcement comes after an amendment to the Presidential Elections Act took effect on Thursday, extending the presidential candidature filing window from 10 to 14 days.

Habeeb said that the commission had taken into consideration the amendment when it set important elections dates, and that draw to assign numbers for the candidates will be held on August 9, which will give candidates 30 days to campaign.

Habeeb said the commission was drafting changes to its regulations in light of the legislative changes.

He said that the commission was conducting its work in accordance with the schedule, but was having challenges in finding electoral officials.

“We have recruited some 2,000 officials so far. But we expect this to get solved soon. We have to assign focal points in islands,” he said.

EC had released the tentative voter’s list as schedule.

The commission said on Friday that it received 551 complaints regarding the tentative list, and will respond to the complaints within the next five days.

The presidential election is scheduled to be held on September 9.