The Elections Commission (EC) has said that 48 candidates who contested the 20th Parliamentary Elections have not submitted their financial statements by the deadline.

Candidates were required to submit their financial statements by Thursday morning.

EC member and Spokesperson Hassan Zakariyya told One Online today that 320 candidates had submitted their financial statements by the deadline.

“320 candidates have submitted their financial statements by the deadline and 48 candidates have not submitted their financial statements. However, we will need to check further to see if any candidate had submitted their statements past the deadline," he said.

He further added that the EC would decide on action against those who have submitted financial statements after the deadline as there will be differences between submitting financial statements before the deadline and submitting financial statements after the deadline.

All candidates contesting the parliamentary elections are required to submit financial statements to the EC.

If a candidate fails to submit a financial statement or gives false information in the financial statement, the penalty is imprisonment for one year or a fine of MVR 72,000.

368 candidates contested in 93 constituencies in the 20th Parliamentary Elections.