Elections Commission (EC) President Mohamed Shakeel has said that the commission is prepared to hold elections simultaneously if the People’s Majlis amends the Constitution and relevant legislation.
In an interview with PSM, Shakeel noted that the commission would facilitate synchronized elections provided that lawmakers introduce the necessary legal reforms.
"If the legislature brings those amendments to the law and decides to hold elections together, we will conduct them as a single process," Shakeel said.
Shakeel highlighted that consolidating elections would allow the state to redirect significant expenditure toward other public needs. He expressed his belief that Members of Parliament would take this into consideration.
"When considering the costs and the logistical effort involved, holding multiple elections in close succession is expensive. If they are held together, hundreds of millions of Rufiyaa in public funds could be diverted to other essential services for the citizens. Therefore, I believe the lawmakers will reflect on these factors," he added.
Acknowledging that frequent elections impose a heavy financial burden on the state, Shakeel explained that the commission is currently mandated to follow the timelines and procedures stipulated in the Constitution and laws.
"Holding several elections back-to-back is, as noted, very costly for the state. However, as long as the Constitution and the laws dictate specific procedures, we are obligated to implement and uphold those legal frameworks," Shakeel said.
Despite Shakeel’s call for parliamentary consideration, a public referendum held in April regarding the government’s proposal to merge the presidential and parliamentary elections saw 68 percent of voters reject the move.
President Mohamed Muizzu previously attributed the government’s defeat in that referendum to voters participating without a clear understanding of the issue.
A total of 216,539 people, representing 74.9 percent of eligible voters, cast their ballots in the referendum. Of those, 148,859 people—or 68.7 percent—voted against combining the two elections. This figure exceeds the total number of votes Muizzu received in the last presidential election.
