Maldives police have deployed 3,000 officers to maintain security for upcoming local council elections slated for January.
Elections commission Wednesday had signed an agreement with police that would see over 3,000 officers deployed for the elections.
Head of police central operations Hamdhoon Rasheed told reporters that police had already commenced efforts to train officers for the elections.
Under the agreement, police would assist the electoral watchdog to conduct the elections.
A recent amendment to the local council Act, the number of councilors to be elected on January 14 will be down to 655 from the present 1,077.
The number of island councilors is currently 945, but the amendment has brought the number to 585. Next year’s polls would also elect 70 Atoll councilors instead of the present 132
According to the amendment, three island councilors would need to be elected from islands with 3,000 or less populations while five would be elected from islands with 3,000 or more people. Only two Atoll councilors will represent two electoral constituencies while one will be elected if the electoral constituency is more than two.
