All Maldives prison staff to vote in jail or detention centres

The Maldives prisons authority has ordered all its employees to re-register to vote in jails or detention centres for the September 23 presidential election.

All uniformed and civilian staff of the Maldives Correctional Service will be required to vote at their workplace, according to a special procedure memo issued by the prisons commissioner.

The Maldives Independent has seen a copy of the memo, which was leaked on social media.

“For the presidential election to be held on 23rd September 2018, officers and employees will vote in ballot boxes set up in the facilities they are working in.

“The officers and civilian employees working in Malé will vote in the ballot box set up in Malé Jail,” the memo reads.

The memo also informs employees that the human resources department will do the re-registration work for employees. But employees are expressly told it is their responsibility to ensure they have been re-registered to vote at their workplaces.

A MCS spokesman told local media this procedure was followed for every election where ballot boxes were set up in jails and detention centres.

MCS spokesman Ahmed Luqman was not responding to calls at the time of going to press.