Majority for Mohamed Muizzu’s Party in Maldives Parliamentary Polls

New Delhi: In Sunday’s pivotal parliamentary election, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) party won over 60 seats, securing a resounding majority.

The nation’s electoral commission said that the PNC has secured 66 of the first 86 seats to be announced.

On Sunday, there were elections for the 93 members of the House.

Voter participation was 72.96 percent, with 207,693 votes cast as of 5:00 pm local time, according to figures given by the Elections Commission (EC).

There are 102,867 women and 104,826 men in this total. In the 20th People’s Majlis, 284,663 voters may choose representatives for 93 constituencies.

There were 368 contenders in all, including 130 independents, 10 JP candidates, 39 Democrats, 4 Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) candidates, 4 Adhaalath Party (AP) candidates, and 2 nominees from the Maldives National Party (MNP).

The major opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) ran for 89 seats, while the PNC ran for 90, according to a report on the sun.mv news site.

The People’s Majlis has 93 members, and the preliminary results show that the Muizzu-led PNC has over 60 seats, or about two-thirds of the total.

The PNC under Muizzu won 67 seats, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) came in second with 12 seats, and independents took home 10 seats, based on trends. The Jumhooree Party (JP) and the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) both received one. The Adhaalath Party (AP), the Democrats, and the Maldives National Party (MNP) have not yet opened their accounts.

According to the edition, just three female candidates were successful in winning seats in the parliamentary election.

All three of these contenders are PNC members, and the party’s female candidates have all won elections.

These are Asma Rasheed for the Central Maafannu seat, Fathimath Saudha for the Nilandhoo constituency, and Anara Naeem for the Huraa constituency.

The MDP, which was in power at the time, secured a supermajority in the 2019 elections, winning 64 seats to the opposition PPM-PNC coalition’s eight.

The main opposition MDP, which had controlled the cities in previous elections, suffered a significant defeat to the main governing PNC, which won all of the Maldives’ cities on Sunday. According to preliminary results, PNC won most of the seats in Fuvahmulah City, Addu City, and Male City.

According to media sources, candidates supported by former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom and the Democrats, formed by former President Mohamed Nasheed, have not won any seats.

The People’s National Front (PNF), led by former president Abdulla Yameen, was also unable to secure any seats in parliament this election, according to The Edition.

The MDP, however, said that they had not “hoped for” the outcomes of the election held on Sunday.

“Although the outcomes did not meet our expectations, the @MDPSecretariat is steadfast in its dedication to democratic principles and the Maldivian people.” True development requires unity and persistence. To every MDP member who was elected with a seat in this election, congratulations. #MisraabuHamaMagah,” the MDM’s Mohamed Faisal wrote on X.

For the parliamentary election, 602 poll boxes were erected in the Maldives and three other nations. Additionally, 34 resorts, jails, and other industrial islands had polling places available. According to psmnews.mv, voting ballot boxes were positioned in Thiruvananthapuram, India; Colombo, Sri Lanka; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Muizzu is a pro-China politician; therefore, this election is important for him. A few days before the voting, the opposition parties sought an investigation and the president’s impeachment over a leaked report about his suspected corruption from 2018, an allegation he denied. In addition, MPs have rejected three of Muizzu’s cabinet candidates since he took office.

After casting his vote, Muizzu spoke with reporters and advised everyone to use their right to vote as soon as possible, according to the news site edition.mv.

Every individual has the constitutional right and obligation to vote. As soon as possible, every person ought to use their right to vote. It is the duty of qualified voters to promptly visit their local polling places and cast their votes, he said, rather than waiting until dusk.

According to the EC, there were no significant problems or grievances throughout the polling.

“So far, no significant complaints have been reported. Regarding the display of ballot papers, concerns have been raised. In that instance, complaints about ballots that are placed in the box without being folded,” the Adhadhu news outlet cited Hassan Zakariyya, an EC member and spokeswoman, as saying.

There haven’t been many of these complaints, he said.

At a male polling place, former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who is now a senior adviser for the major opposition MDP, cast his vote. Speaking with reporters outside the voting place, Solih predicted that the MDP would gain a resounding majority in the election, according to the sun.mv news site.

“By the conclusion of today’s vote, we expect the MDP will be able to gain a sizable majority. This has been seen both today and during the campaign, the speaker said.

Since Muizzu, 45, took office in November of last year, relations between the island country and India have become worse, and this was also the case during the Maldives election. He had taken a strong anti-Indian stance during the previous year’s presidential campaign.

India was compelled to evacuate the majority of the military troops stationed at its three aircraft sites; nonetheless, Muizzu visited China in January and had meetings with President Xi Jinping and other high-ranking Chinese officials. A defense cooperation pact and numerous other infrastructure development projects were also inked by China and the Maldives.

The Maldives is India’s principal maritime neighbor in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) and has a particular position in government programs like “Neighbourhood First Policy” and “SAGAR” (Security and Growth for All in the Region).

However, China’s “debt trap” diplomacy and “String of Pearls” strategy—a calculated move to develop a network of military and economic facilities in nations bordering the Indian Ocean—are allowing it to leave a larger mark on the region.