Elections Commission (EC) Chairman Ahmed Shareef has said that ballot boxes in several islands have not been opened as of yet due to zero turnout.

While voting began at 7:00am across the country, by 8:20am 195 ballot boxes were still left unopened since no one had shown up to vote.

The EC previously noted that voting for several ballot boxes will be delayed due to various reasons, including Th. Vilufushi where election officials have been asked to quarantine themselves.

Though about 2,700 people have voted so far, voter queues seem to be much smaller this year as the support for the LCE decreases. EC has however reiterated that all arrangements of the elections are in line with the guidelines set by HPA.

The elections which have a total of 3,934 candidates competing for local council seats have 273,182 eligible voters. Out of the 3,943 candidates, 2,264 candidates are competing for local council seats while 1,670 are competing to be part of organisations that work for women's development.

There are over 700 ballot boxes for the election with over 7,000 officials working to ensure a smooth run.