Elections Commission has announced that voting in the ongoing local council elections would be extended in some polling stations to make up for the time lost due to the delay in opening some stations for voting.
Some polling stations failed to open more than two hours after voting opened.
Elections commission had said the primary delay was caused by officials designated for the polls had failed to turn up at the respective polling stations.
The exact number of polling stations to be afforded the extension remains unclear but a station in the reclaimed suburb Hulhumale was one.
Polling however in other stations would close at the scheduled 4pm, the commission said.
The commission is yet to officially comment on the voter turnout, but most polling stations had reported low turnouts.
Despite a few complaints of fake ballot papers and results sheets, the commission said there were no major issues in the elections thus far.
Elections commission said people faking disabilities have been reported in some polling stations while some complaints of forged ballot papers and results sheet had been reported.
The commission however, insisted that the security features in the ballot papers cannot be forged adding that voting had begun in all polling stations across the archipelago.
A polling station in the capital had also reported complaints of campaigning which had been prohibited since 6pm Friday.
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.
