2024 Maldivian parliamentary election

←  2019 21 April 2024 2028 →
All 93 seats in the People's Majlis 47 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	76.27% ( 5.05pp)
Party Leader Vote % Seats +/– PNC Mohamed Muizzu 47.48 66 +63 MDP Abdulla Shahid 30.74 12 −53 MDA Ahmed Siyam Mohamed 1.91 2 0 JP Qasim Ibrahim 1.47 1 −4 MNP Mohamed Nazim 0.50 1 New Independents – 14.52 11 +4 This lists parties that won seats. See the complete results below. Results by constituency Speaker before Speaker after Mohamed Aslam MDP Abdul Raheem Abdulla PNC

Parliamentary elections were held in the Maldives on 21 April 2024, ^[1] having previously been scheduled for 17 March. ^[2] The election date was changed to April after President Mohamed Muizzu ratified election postponement bill by the People's Majlis passed on 28 February. ^{[3] [4]} Due to Grade 7, 8 and 9 exams scheduled for 16–27 April clashing with the parliamentary election date, the Ministry of Education decided to bring forward the tests to 27 March–25 April. ^[5]

Contents

• Background
• Electoral system
• Constituencies
• Campaign
• Conduct
• People's National Congress
• Candidates
• Results
• Aftermath
• Reactions
• References

The result was a landslide victory for Muizzu's People's National Congress (PNC) and a heavy defeat for the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which won a similar landslide in the 2019 elections. The results were seen as an endorsement of Muizzu's plan to press ahead with closer economic cooperation with China and a rebuke of the pro-India MDP, which had sought to disrupt efforts to realign Maldivian diplomacy. ^{[6] [7]}

Background

The election was held amid a dispute between President Mohamed Muizzu and the outgoing People's Majlis, which blocked several of his initiatives as well as the appointment of three of his nominated cabinet members. ^[8]

Electoral system

The 93 seats in the People's Majlis were elected in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system. ^[9] Prior to the elections, the number of seats was increased from 87 to 93, with six new seats created. ^[10]

Campaign

The 93 seats were contested by a total of 368 candidates. ^[1]

Conduct

The Parliamentary Elections Regulations include a comprehensive code of conduct aimed at regulating the behavior of candidates and their supporters during the campaign period. However, concerns were raised over restrictions imposed by the code on freedom of expression and campaigning. ^[14]

Despite these concerns, the campaign leading up to the parliamentary elections was relatively peaceful. The Maldives Police Service indicated that they did not anticipate any major disruptions, disturbances, or protests either during the campaign period or on Election Day. However, there were potential risks of some disturbances, particularly due to the alleged links of several candidates to gangs. ^[14]

One key concern was the possibility of disagreements or clashes between supporters of rival candidates, especially in light of incidents during the People's National Congress (PNC) and Maldivian Democratic Party primaries. The Maldives Police Service said they were prepared to handle any such scenarios that may arise. ^[14]

Candidates

The People's National Congress had 90 candidates, followed by the Maldivian Democratic Party with 89 candidates. There were 130 independent candidates among 93 constituencies and four candidates from the Adhaalath Party and the Jumhooree Party. Two candidates contested from the Maldives National Party.

Results

Allegations of vote buying and undue influence were made on election day. ^{[16] [17]} Initial results suggested that the president's party, the People's National Congress was on course to win at least 70 seats. ^{[18] [19]} Maldivian media described the results as giving a supermajority for the PNC, with its numbers allowing it to achieve the two-thirds in the People's Majlis that is required to amend the constitution. The PNC's successes came at the cost of the MDP, which itself held a supermajority in the outgoing Majlis and lost its strongholds of Malé, Addu City and Kulhudhuffushi to the PNC. ^[20]

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	People's National Congress	101,128	47.48	66	+63
	Maldivian Democratic Party	65,476	30.74	12	–53
	The Democrats	4,634	2.18	0	New
	Maldives Development Alliance	4,071	1.91	2	0
	Jumhooree Party	3,141	1.47	1	–4
	Adhaalath Party	2,538	1.19	0	0
	Maldives National Party	1,060	0.50	1	New
	Independents	30,931	14.52	11	+4
Total		212,979	100.00	93	+6
Valid votes		212,979	98.10
Invalid/blank votes		4,120	1.90
Total votes		217,099	100.00
Registered voters/turnout		284,663	76.27
Source: ECM, ORF

Aftermath

MDP chair Fayyaz Ismail congratulated the PNC for winning the election but vowed that it would continue to "hold it accountable as responsible opposition". ^[21] Several independent candidates who won in the election later joined the PNC, pushing its total number of seats to 73. ^{[22] [23]}

Reactions

The United States Department of State said it was "glad to hear observers reported no major issues or irregularities, and that the results are indicative of the will of the people". ^[24]

References