Voting has begun in the re-election for the position of President of the Dhaalu Meedhoo Council, with polling stations opening as scheduled on Saturday morning.

The Elections Commission has established three ballot boxes for the vote. Two ballot boxes have been set up at Dhaalu Atoll School in Meedhoo, while a third has been arranged at Dharumavantha School in Malé for eligible voters residing in the capital.

The Commission confirmed that voting commenced at 8:00 a.m. and will continue until 4:00 p.m.

A total of 1,049 individuals are eligible to cast their ballots in the election. Of these, 587 voters are registered to vote in Meedhoo, while 462 have registered to vote in Malé.

The re-election is being held following a court ruling related to the Local Council Elections. The court determined that a ballot cast at the Dhaalu Meedhoo-2 polling station should be deemed valid. The decision resulted in a tie among candidates for the votes required to elect the Council President, necessitating a fresh vote for the position.

The seat is being contested by Mohamed Shaahid of the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) and Suha Ibrahim of the People's National Congress (PNC).