This marks the highest voter turnout ever recorded in a local council election
Voter turnout for this year's local council elections reached 72.88 percent, marking a five percent increase compared to 2021. According to provisional results, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) secured a landslide victory, winning all mayoral seats and a majority across local councils. Furthermore, in a concurrent referendum regarding the synchronization of presidential and parliamentary elections, the majority of voters rejected the proposal.
A member of the public arrives to cast their ballot during the local council elections held on Saturday. | RaajjeMV | Raajje MV
Provisional statistics released by the Elections Commission indicate that this year's local council elections saw the highest voter turnout in the history of such polls.
A total of 294,876 individuals were eligible to vote in this election. According to the Elections Commission, 214,898 people cast their ballots, representing a voter turnout of 72.88 percent.
The Elections Commission has stated that this election saw the highest voter turnout compared to previous local council elections. Participation increased by 5 percent compared to the 2021 Local Council and Women's Development Committee elections. While 189,517 people cast their ballots in 2021, this year’s turnout rose to 214,898 voters. This represents an increase of 25,381 people.
Voting in the elections commenced at 8:00 a.m., with the polls originally scheduled to remain open until 4:00 p.m. By that deadline, voter turnout stood at 68 percent. Although the queues were closed at the designated time, voting continued for those already in line, and all ballot boxes were finally sealed by 9:30 p.m. last night.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has secured the majority in the elections. According to provisional results, the party swept the mayoral races across all cities, with Ali Nizar elected as Mayor of Addu City, Adam Azim as Mayor of Male' City, Saud Ali as Mayor of Thinadhoo City, Mohamed Athif as Mayor of Kulhudhuffushi City, and Ismail Rafeeq as Mayor of Fuvahmulah City. Furthermore, the MDP also successfully secured the seats for the Women's Development Committees (WDC) across all five cities.
Ibrahim Samah, representing the government, secured the Vilimale seat in the Male' City Council. The remaining seats in Male' were won by the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). In Addu City, the government also secured only one seat, won by PNC candidate Ahmed Saeed for the Hithadhoo Mooleke constituency. All other seats in Addu City were claimed by the MDP.
The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) secured all but one seat in Fuvahmulah City, having contested every constituency except the Dadimagu ward. The Dadimagu seat was won by an independent candidate. Similarly, in Kulhudhuffushi City, the MDP swept all seats with the exception of one. The sole remaining seat was won by the People’s National Congress (PNC) candidate, incumbent Councilor Ibrahim Ahmed.
In Thinadhoo City, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) secured a dominant victory, winning all but two seats. The People's National Congress (PNC) managed to secure only the South West and South Central seats, while the MDP claimed the remaining four.
Provisional results indicate that the MDP has secured the majority of council seats. Furthermore, in the referendum held to determine public opinion on aligning the presidential and parliamentary elections, voters overwhelmingly rejected the proposal to hold the two elections concurrently.
