The Indian Express (Delhi Edition)
With over 60 seats, Muizzu party secures landslide win in Maldives Parliament polls
Polls seen as litmus test for pro-beijing President; party wins all big cities in blow to opposition
MALDIVIAN PRESIDENT Mohamed Muizzu has secured a “supermajority” in Parliament by winning over 60 seats in Sunday's crucial parliamentary election, seen as a litmus test for the probeijing politician whose policies are being closely watched by both India and China amidst regional power dynamics.
According to information released by the Elections Commission (EC), 207,693 people cast their ballots as of 5:00 pm local time, making for a voter turnout of 72.96 per cent. This includes 104,826 men and 102,867 women. A total of 284,663 people were eligible to vote to elect lawmakers for 93 constituencies in the 20th People’s Majlis.
A total of 368 candidates were in the fray, including 130 independent candidates.
According to preliminary results, PNC secured over 60 constituencies accounting for almost two-thirds of the parliament, it said.
As per the trends, the PNC led by Muizzu bagged 67 seats, followed by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) at 12 seats and Independents won 10 seats. Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) and Jumhooree Party (JP) got one each. The Democrats,
Maldives President Mohamed Muizu
Maldives National Party (MNP) and Adhaalath Party (AP) are yet to open their accounts.
The main ruling PNC secured all cities across the Maldives, in a major loss to the main opposition MDP, which had dominated the cities in previous elections. Preliminary results show thatpnc secured the majority of the seats in Male City, Addu City and Fuv ah mu l ah city. the democrats, founded by former President Mohamed Nasheed, and candidates endorsed by former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom have not secured any seats, according to media reports.
A total of 602 ballot boxes were set up in the Maldives and three other countries for the parliamentary election. Polling stations were also open in 34 resorts, prisons, and other industrial islands. The countries in which ballot boxes were placed for voting ar et hi ru van ant ha pu ram in india, Colombo in Sri Lanka and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, psmnews.mv reported.
The election is crucial for Muizzu, seen as a pro-china politician, as just a few days ahead of the polls, the opposition parties demanded a probe and impeachment of the president following a leaked report of his alleged corruption from 2018, a charge dismissed by him. Besides, since Muizzu came to office, lawmakers have blocked three of his nominees to the cabinet.