The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) has secured the council seat in Maarandhoo island of Haa Alif atoll.

The ruling party won the seat with a margin of 35 votes, defeating the candidate from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), during the by-election held on Saturday.

According to the provisional results, PNC’s candidate Abdul Hameed Abdul Sattar took the lead with 285 votes, while MDP’s candidate Shiham Mohamed garnered 250 votes.

With five invalid votes, a total of 470 individuals cast their votes in Saturday’s by-election.

736 were eligible to cast their votes in the election, including 354 women and 382 men.