Mayor of Male’ City Council, Shifa Mohamed has said that it should be made compulsory for everyone above 18 years to vote.

Compulsory voting is an effect of laws which require eligible citizens to register and vote in elections, and may impose penalties on those who fail to do so. About 5% of all UN members enforce such laws globally, with a total of 22 countries that provide for compulsory voting.

In a tweet sent out on polling day, Shifa said that voting should be made compulsory, and that laws should be framed to enforce such in the Maldives along the lines of countries with further developed democracies.

So far over 193,000 people have voted at the Parliamentary Election 2019, however 26% of eligible voters still remain to vote.