Commissioner working towards May elections

President of the Elections Commission Mohamed Ibrahim has said that he is hoping to slate the parliamentary election called for in the constitution some time in May.

Responding to questions from Miadhu Daily on the Majlis endorsement of the bill on Electoral boundaries and on a possible election date, Mohamed Ibrahim said once the bill is ratified by the president and published in the government gazette, other arrangements has to be put in place by the Election Commission before the elections can be slated. However he said every effort will be made to stick to the timelines stipulated in the bill.

He noted that just as deadlines are stipulated for the commission to submit proposals to the Majlis, the bill also requires certain conditions to be fulfilled before elections can be held. He noted the bill needs to be published periods stipulated to receive public complaints after which the complaints needs to be addressed.

He further said to accomplish all this takes time and that once the bill on elections is passed, candidates needs to file their candidacy, commission has to scrutinize their applications , and time needs to be given candidates for their campaign. He said all this requires time and that the commission needs to determine how much time can be given for such purposes.

President of Elections Commission Mohamed Ibrahim said considering all this, he was looking at a May date for the parliamentary elections.

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