More than 41,000 citizens had cast their ballots by mid-morning on Saturday as the Maldives held three concurrent polls, marking a significant level of early civic participation across the country.
Polling stations opened at 8:00 a.m. for the Local Council elections, the Women’s Development Committee elections, and a national referendum. While a small number of centres experienced minor initial delays, the vast majority of stations began operations on time, according to the Elections Commission of Maldives.
Official figures show strong early engagement from voters. By 10:00 a.m., a total of 41,162 people had voted, including 24,996 men and 16,166 women, reflecting steady momentum in the first two hours of polling.
The elections are being conducted for an eligible voting population of 294,876 people. To facilitate the process, authorities have deployed 588 ballot boxes across the country.
Polling is scheduled to continue until 4:00 p.m., with officials expecting turnout to rise further as the day progresses.
