The Elections Commission (EC) has announced by-elections to replace vacant council seats in Alif Alif Himandhoo and Gnaviyani Fuvahmulah for November 19 and invited potential candidates to apply before October 16.
Councillors of the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Hassan Saeed from Fuvahmulah and Abdulla Jameel from Himandhoo, lost their seats after the Supreme Court ruled last week on cases contesting their eligibility to compete in the February council elections.
The Supreme Court ruled that Hassan Saeed had a decreed debt that he was not paying back in accordance with a lower court verdict while Abdulla Jameel had been convicted of theft. Both were disqualified under article 12(c) of the Local Council Elections Act.
