The Elections Commission (EC) has been accused of favouring a specific company in seeking printers for the April 4 local councils election.

Some people accused that the terms and conditions of the tender announced by the EC for the procurement of 650 printers were targeted at a specific company.

The election date was announced three months ago on December 4 2025. But the tender was opened on February 24 2026.

The deadline for submission of bids is March 3 2026. The main condition is that the selected bidder must supply all the items within seven days.

Some sources told Adhadhu that it will be difficult to import a large shipment of 650 printers in just seven days, unless the company is prepared in advance.

"This will be difficult for any company in the Maldives to do in a short period of time, if it was not planned in advance. It will also be expensive. This is a huge loss to the state," a source said.

Another source said that giving such a short deadline would not allow for competitive bidding and would increase the expenditure incurred by the state.