The official campaign period for the 2022 General Election will be gazetted by the Electoral Commission in accordance with the law, says Supervisor of Elections Mohammed Saneem.

Section 109A of the Electoral Act 2014 stipulates that the Electoral Commission must determine the campaign period for a general election and publish a notice in the Gazette. The Act further states that the campaign period must not be earlier than 30 days prior to the completion of 3 years and 6 months of the siting of Parliament after the last general election, and later than 48 hours prior to the general election.

“Our calculations suggest that that date is 26th April. However, that decision still lies with the Electoral Commission,” says Saneem.

The SOE added that all relevant campaign laws will become effective once the ‘campaign period’ date is gazetted and that the campaign dates will allow political parties to campaign within the framework.