48,777 individuals, out of 78,638 of those eligible, voted in Friday’s primary election, says Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).

While 62 percent of those eligible voted in the primary, over 200 candidates contested in 77 constituencies.

A total of 270 ballot boxes were placed for the party primary, across Maldives and one each in India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.

The party had decided to compete in all 87 constituencies in the primary election, however there were no applicants for Nilandhoo constituency and only one candidate had applied for nine constituencies.

MDP’s internal election was scheduled to start at 2:30pm on Friday, but was delayed in some areas including capital.

Speaking on RaajjeTV’s Fala Surukhee programme on Saturday night, MDP senior official Ibrahim Waheed said that the delay was due to “lack of communication.”

He added that they will learn from these mistakes and that they “will work to fix these issues in the future.”

Senior officials of the party, including government ministers, were assigned as officials and monitors.

Waheed further highlighted that MDP will be providing “technical assistance” to those that emerged victorious in the elections, and that the party’s leadership will join their campaign activities.

Furthermore, he said that Elections Commission “after years” assisted in ensuring a successful primary election, including providing ballot boxes.

Waheed also responded to the criticism directed towards MDP for placing polling stations in schools, saying that they had rented the schools for the occasion.

While the parliamentary elections are scheduled for April 6, MDP is the only party that has held a primary election.

Elections Commission has informed political parties to conclude primaries before January 26.