Sinan’s ticket revoked and handed to Saeed

The People's National Congress (PNC) has decided to revoke the ticket of former Member of Parliament Mohamed Sinan for the upcoming Addu City North Hithadhoo constituency by-election, awarding it instead to Ahmed Saeed (Soda), the current local councilor for the Moolekede ward.

The North Hithadhoo constituency seat became vacant after it was proven in court that Mohamed Sinan, who was elected to the seat in the 2024 elections, had an outstanding bank loan debt that he was failing to settle in accordance with a prior judgment. Following a case submitted to the Supreme Court regarding this matter, the court ruled that Sinan has disqualified from his position, resulting in the loss of his parliamentary seat.

A primary was held last weekend to select the People's National Congress (PNC) candidate for the upcoming by-election to fill this seat. The contest featured Sinan against Ahmed Saeed. Sinan secured the party's ticket by winning 226 votes, while Saeed received 187 votes.

Despite receiving congratulations from the PNC leadership following his primary victory, Sinan announced via X on Wednesday that he has decided to relinquish his ticket. Sinan stated that he has chosen not to contest the election and will instead step aside to allow another candidate the opportunity. Following this development, the PNC has decided to award the ticket to Ahmed Saeed, who secured the second-highest number of votes in the primary.

Regarding the conduct of this election, the Elections Commission has extended the deadline for candidate nominations. The application window, which was originally set from April 14 to April 29, has now been extended until 3:00 PM on Saturday, May 2, 2026.

The Elections Commission has scheduled the North Hithadhoo constituency by-election for Saturday, June 6, 2026.