The Elections Commission (EC) has so far accepted the candidacies of 1,324 candidates for the April 4 local council and Women's Development Committee (WDC) elections.

According to the EC, it accepted 750 candidacies for the local council polls while rejecting 183 candidates. Seventy-seven candidates resubmitted their forms.

The EC accepted 617 candidates from political parties while 113 were rejected. Political parties have resubmitted their nomination papers for 36 candidates.

In addition, candidacies for 133 independent candidates have been accepted while 70 were rejected. Thirty-six independent candidates have resubmitted their nominations.

For the WDC polls, 574 candidates have been accepted while 126 candidates were rejected and 34 candidates have resubmitted their forms.

Some of the reasons for rejecting candidacies include failure to submit a full criminal and debt record, details of any offences or debts, as well as failure to submit a complete Correctional Service criminal record.

The deadline for nominations is 3:00 pm on February 1.

This year, candidates have to submit all documents and pay administrative fees through the EC's main portal.