The Elections Commission (EC) has accepted 2,888 candidacies as the deadline for submitting papers ends today for the local councils and Women's Development Committee (WDC) elections to be held on April 4.

According to the EC, nominations from 2,888 candidates were accepted by 11:00 pm last night (January 31). They are 1,556 candidates contesting the local council elections and 1,332 candidates contesting the WDC elections.

Of the 1,556 local council candidates, 1,197 were from political parties, while the remaining 359 were independent candidates.

Of the 1,332 WDC candidates, 1,091 were from political parties, while the remaining 241 were independent candidates.

In addition, a total of 525 candidates have been rejected. However, 478 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 ends at 3:00 pm today.

The EC gave an additional two hours each day to submit nominations online after the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) requested a 10-day extension.

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

The April 4 polls will elect members to local councils and WDCs from 225 constituencies. A total of 621 polling stations will be set up for the election.