Elections Commission (EC) stated just now that the major fire incident that occurred tonight in a warehouse adjacent to the Election Center will not cause any disruptions to the upcoming Local Council Elections.
The fire broke out in a warehouse next to the former Drug Court, where the EC conducts all administrative work for the Local Council Elections, Women's Development Committee elections, and the referendum scheduled for the 4th of next month. MNDF firefighters have now extinguished the fire at the site.
The President of the EC, Mohamed Zahid, told media just now that the fire incident would not cause any disruption to the commission's preparations for the three elections.
"All documents at the election center, all documents required for the election, equipment, and everything else have now been secured and moved outside," Zahid said.
"Therefore, without any disruption to any election matters, God willing, we will proceed with the elections on April 4th exactly as planned."
EC operations temporarily moved to the Social Centre
According to Zahid, the most important work currently being carried out by the EC is the signing of the final voters' registry by candidates. This work had to be suspended due to the fire incident tonight.
However, he stated that the process of candidates signing the final voters' registry will resume tomorrow at the Social Centre during the previously scheduled times.
Zahid said that until the MNDF grants permission to enter the building where the Election Center is currently located, the commission's work will be carried out temporarily at the Social Centre starting tomorrow. He mentioned that all setups would be moved to the Social Centre tonight, and they would be ready to provide services tomorrow.
According to the MNDF, when the Fire and Rescue Service arrived at the scene around 10:00 PM tonight following reports of smoke, the warehouse was already fully engulfed in flames. Although firefighting efforts began immediately, the intense fire involving chemicals caused the warehouse to be burnt to ashes within a short period.
The fire broke out in the main warehouse of Prime Fertilizer, a company that imports and sells plant nutrients and various types of chemicals. An official from the company stated that approximately 80 percent of the company's goods were stored in that warehouse, which included chemicals.
