Allowing voters to vote by residential constituency under discussion

Elections Commission (EC) states discussions are underway on making the necessary changes to allow voters to vote by their residential constituencies when electing individuals for electoral posts instead of voting based on their permanent address.

Speaking at a program broadcasted by state media PSM on Thursday, EC’s member Hassan Zakariyya underscored that voters, when electing individuals to represent them, currently vote based on the constituency of their permanent residence in the Maldives.

He described this as a significant difference between the Maldives and the rest of the world when it comes to the election of individuals for electoral posts. As an example, he pointed out that individuals who have lived in Male’ for over 20 years, still have to vote by the island where their permanent address is situated.

Zakariyya emphasized that the arrangement produced negative results. One such negative result he highlighted in this regard is the election of an individual desired by voters registered to the constituency instead of voters who reside in the constituency and seek services from the constituency.

“We have noticed the negative result that comes about due to these voting arrangements during some elections. The voters who reside on the island vote for one candidate while the voters registered to the island that reside in Male’ vote for another. Hence, it is not the candidate desired by the residents of the island that is elected for the post,” he said.

Thus, Zakariyya said EC believes in the need for a systematic change to allow voters to vote by their residential constituencies instead of voting based on their permanent address. He added that the Commission was already in discussion with political parties to resolve the issue.

Zakariyya said such a systemic change would increase the chances of the residents of the location electing an individual who they wish to represent them.

Individuals are elected for constituencies in parliamentary elections and the local council elections.

Voters vote based on the constituency of their permanent address in these elections. Whether voters should be able to vote in constituencies where they have resided over a long period of time rather than the constituency of their permanent address remains a longstanding debate.