Mohamed Raashid, the newly elected lawmaker for Komandoo constituency has taken his oath of office.

The newly elected parliamentarian was sworn in during a special ceremony held at the People’s Majlis building on Wednesday; his oath was administered by Supreme Court Justice Husnu Al Suood.

The ceremony was joined by other parliamentarians as well as the Speaker and Former President, Mohamed Nasheed.

Raashid was the candidate put forth by main-ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) for the by-election for the People’s Majlis’ constituency for Komandoo.

Official results announced by the Elections Commission earlier this week, showed Raashid in the lead with 1,398 votes, which is 48.5 percent of the voters.

A total of seven ballot boxes were placed for the polls and Raashid’s closest opponent was Progressive Party of the Maldives (PPM) candidate Moosa Fathuhee, who received 1,161 votes which is 40 percent of the votes.

The only other candidate who vied for the seat was Maldives National Party (MNP)’s Abdul Hannan Idrees who fell short with 323 votes which contributes 11 percent of the total vote count.

Following Raashid’s win, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih congratulated him and his constituents via Twitter. The president also thanked everyone who supported the main ruling party’s campaign.

Raashid was backed by ruling coalition members Jumhooree Party (JP) as well as Adhaalath Party, with leaders of both parties, Gasim Ibrahim and Sheikh Imran Abdulla having joined the campaign.

Speaking to RaajjeMV after his victory, the MDP candidate refuted claims that the government had influenced the election. As such he revealed that he does not believe the by-election was rigged or influenced by the government. He credited the win to the hard work and support of the ruling party leadership, members and constituents.

The by-election came after MP for Komandoo constituency, Hussain Waheed succumbed to a long battle with cancer, on 14 December 2021.

The respected lawmaker lost the long battle to cancer and was pronounced dead by doctors at ADK Hospital. The Sh. Foakaidhoo native, 53, had been receiving treatment for cancer for an extensive period of time, from Dubai as well. He returned to Maldives during March 2021 and continued his treatment. MP Waheed was unable to attend parliament sittings since then. He had served as a parliamentarian during the 17th parliament as well, during former President and current Speaker Mohamed Nasheed’s presidency. MP Waheed was also a prominent businessman, he is survived by his spouse and three children; two daughters and a son.