Govt declares two-day holiday to accommodate parliament polls

The 21st and the 22nd of April have been declared public holidays, in lieu of the upcoming parliamentary elections.

Parliamentary elections are scheduled for Sunday, 21st of next month. The Election Commission has requested the government to close the following Monday as the voting process will not be completed by Sunday.

The 21st and 22nd of next month have been declared as public holidays as requested by EC, according to the President’s Office. The commission requested for the polling day to be declared a holiday as a lot of civil servants will be involved in the voting process as officials, and it can encourage more voters turnout.

The following Monday was declared a public holiday as many important election-related activities such as counting of votes after the vote and announcement of results would continue on that day, keeping the election officials still occupied.

The Election Commission originally scheduled the election for the 17th of this month. However, the Parliament amended the Election Act to prevent elections from being held during Ramadan.

According to the amendment to the Election Act:

Following these amendments, the election date falls on the 21st of next month.