Male, Apr 22: Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu appeared to be inching towards a landslide victory with his People’s National Congress party bagging 59 seats as the counting of votes is underway for the crucial parliamentary election, which was seen as a litmus test for the pro-Beijing politician whose policies are being closely watched by both India and China amidst regional power dynamics.Voting for the 20th People’s Majlis was conducted on Sunday from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm local time. Election officials sealed the ballot boxes across the country as voting hours ended at 5:30 pm, adhadhu.com reported.
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.
A total of 602 ballot boxes were set up in the Maldives and three other countries for the parliamentary election. The countries in which ballot boxes were placed for voting are Thiruvananthapuram in India, Colombo in Sri Lanka and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, psmnews.mv reported.
Parliamentarians will be elected to a total of 93 constituencies, with 368 candidates contesting from six parties, including Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC), the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and 130 independents.
According to a sun.mv report, of the 203 seats where counting is complete, the People’s National Congress led by Muizzu bagged 59 seats, followed by Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) at 10 seats and Independents 9 seats. Maldives Development Alliance won two seats, while Jumhooree Party got one. The Democrats, Maldives National Party and Adhaalath Party are yet to open their accounts.
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.
Muizzu cast his vote at the polling station in Thaajuddin School at 8:40 am. Speaking to reporters after casting the ballot, he urged every citizen to exercise their right to vote as soon as possible, news portal edition.mv reported.