Election Commission (EC) President Fuad Taufeeq has said that postponing the elections is not a democratic practice.

Speaking at the National Advisory Committee held at Dharubaaruge today, Fuad expressed concern over the Parliament passing a bill to postpone the parliamentary elections scheduled to be held on March 17. Fuad said it was not democratic to make a decision when a particular group wanted to.

"I would like to say that the most basic thing in a democracy is that when we decide something in a way, we do it on the basis of equality in the way we choose it. Whether elections are held, candidates are contesting, choosing observers and monitors, everything should be done within the stipulated time frame for everything. We shouldn't change decisions for a particular person," he said.

Fuad said it was not democratic to change the voting day based on requests from certain groups. He added that no one had raised concerns over the election date when it was first announced.

"For instance, when we first announced the date, no one said anything against it. But as the deadline drew closer, we were contacted by multiple people to extend the deadline to submit forms. We have been saying we cannot change rules for certain people, we have to follow the law," Fuad said.

Fuad added that though the EC had tried to hold the elections before Ramadan, at that time, lawmakers and parties were also pointing out that there was no problem in holding the elections during Ramadan and now they do not want the elections to be held during Ramadan.