Democrats to allow instant party signup, online voting in primary
This is the first election in Maldives to allow online voting.
By
Fathmath Ahmed Shareef
People will be able to sign up for the primary and vote instantly while online voting will also be introduced for the presidential primary slated for Friday, interim chairperson of Democrats Hassan Latheef said on Monday.
Hulhudhoo MP Ilyas Labeeb is the sole contender for the Democrats presidential ticket. He will have to secure at least 10% of the votes in Friday's referendum to be held from 2pm to 6pm next Friday.
The Democrats held a press conference after an interim council meeting on Monday. Hassan Latheef, who represents Henveiru West constituency in parliament, said the council had decided to give the people the opportunity to sign up during the primary.
The council unanimously decided to do so, according to Hassan, so that:
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The party's membership can be increased
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Having a single candidate in the primary
"This is not a competitive election. There is only one candidate. So, the party should also try to get as many votes as possible because the arrangements will be made so that those who want to join the party as members can do so while voting," Hassan said.
Further decisions taken by the council on Monday are:
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Make online voting arrangements
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Ballot boxes to be placed in all islands with more than 20 members; Party members in those islands will also have the opportunity to vote online
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In islands with less than 20 members, online voting will be the only option
Hassan said that although online voting will be conducted, security measures will be implemented to avoid double voting and so on. He noted that arrangements have been made to prevent the voter from voting online a second time as the polling station stores the voter's information immediately.
This is the first election in Maldives to allow online voting.
