Maldives' electoral watchdog has assured that it would reschedule the court delayed local council polls in early April, main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said Wednesday.
The civil court had postponed the council polls originally slated for January 14 by two months.
Ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) filed the case seeking to delay the upcoming council polls by two months citing that the ongoing rift within the party had impeded its preparations for the elections slated for January 14.
Elections Commission had withdrawn the appeal of the court ruling due to the lack of time available to hold the elections on the original date regardless of the outcome of the appeal.
The law mandates the commission to allow candidates 28 days to campaign before the elections date.
After an emergency sit-down of the elections advisory committee comprising representatives of all political parties and relevant institutions on Thursday, MDP deputy chairperson Ali Niyaz said the purpose of the meeting was to discuss a new date to hold the elections.
Elections commission had assured the committee that a new date for the polls would be announced soon.
"We've received word that the new date would be in the first week of April. So we're really pleased. All the parties had urged the commission to announce a new date as soon as possible," Niyaz said.
According to Niyaz, all the parties had also asked the commission to maintain the candidatures when announcing the new date.
Elections commission member Mohamed Shakeel said the new date would be announced next week.
But the date would be finalized after considering the legally permitted campaigning period for candidates and other administrative arrangements, Shakeel explained.
