The Elections Commission of Maldives (EC) has launched a training programme for officials who will be stationed at polling centres for the upcoming Local Council Elections and Women’s Development Committee (WDC) elections.

A total of 95 trainers will be deployed across Malé and the atolls to train approximately 7,000 polling station officials. Training sessions for officials in the Malé area are scheduled to begin on 15 January.

The training programme will cover key aspects of polling station operations, including procedures on election day, providing guidance and information to voters, and post-voting processes. Officials will also receive detailed instruction on vote counting, with practical exercises conducted as part of the training.

The Elections Commission said a separate trainers’ training programme was held from 3 to 9 January to prepare those tasked with delivering the sessions. More than 100 trainers completed this programme and will be responsible for training polling station officials both within the Maldives and at overseas voting locations.

The Local Council Elections and Women’s Development Committee elections are scheduled to be held on 4 April 2026.