Polling stations opened for the delayed local council elections at 8am on Saturday portrayed more as a referendum to decide between the government and the now united opposition.
Originally slated for January 14 the council elections had been delayed thrice, first ordered by the civil court over the rift in the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and twice by the elections commission.
After rescheduling the polls for April 8 after the court ruling, the commission postponed the polls again to April 15, claiming that public schools were unavailable to accommodate polling stations at an earlier date before delaying it for the third time to May 6 after the swine flu outbreak.
Compared to the more illustrious parliamentary and presidential elections, the council elections in the past have been considered less significant to the political parties in the Maldives since the decentralized system was introduced in 2009.
However, the elections comes amid an intense showdown between the government and the now opposition parties as both sides urging the people to come out in numbers to declare their support through the vote.
A total of 1,487 candidates will be contesting the elections for 664 seats including 563 councilors to 179 island councils, 67 councilors to 18 atoll councils and 23 councilors to three city councils.
A total of 255,987 Maldivians are eligible to vote and 422 ballot boxes will be set up across the country.
Ahead of the vote, police had assured that steps have been taken to ensure a peaceful vote saying that police officers have been dispatched to all polling stations.
Saturday’s election would also take place despite the refusal of opposition candidates to endorse the voter list. A guideline imposed by the supreme court during the 2013 presidential election requires all political parties and independent candidates to verify and approve the voter registry.
Candidates from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and ally Jumhoory Party (JP) have refused to sign the lists citing concerns over accuracy. But the elections commission maintains that their refusal is not a legal obstacle to conducting the polls.
