The Election Commission of Maldives (ECM) has announced that nominations for the upcoming local council and women’s development committee elections will open on Saturday, 17 January, and remain open until 1 February.
This will be the first time that candidate nomination forms are accepted digitally through an online portal, marking a major step in the commission’s efforts to modernise the electoral process.
Speaking at a press conference, ECM Chairperson Mohamed Zahid confirmed that the elections are scheduled to be held on 4 April 2026. Polling stations will be open from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. A total of 1,356 members will be elected nationwide—678 for local councils and 678 for women’s development committees.
According to ECM, 294,937 eligible voters are expected to participate in the elections. Of these, 144,527 are women and 150,410 are men.
Voting will take place across 321 polling stations throughout the country. These will include stations on all inhabited islands, as well as industrial islands, prisons, and resort islands. In addition, overseas voting will be facilitated through ballot boxes set up in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Colombo, Sri Lanka.
Under the current constituency guidelines, 626 councillors will be elected to island councils, while 52 councillors will be elected to city councils. Representation will vary depending on population size. The women’s development committees will follow the same structure as the elected councils.
Zahid said that all necessary administrative and logistical preparations are currently underway to ensure a smooth, transparent, and credible election process.
