2024 Maldivian parliamentary election

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2024 Maldivian parliamentary election

← 2019 21 April 2024 2029 →

All 93 seats in the People's Majlis 47 seats needed for a majority

Party Leader Current seats MDP Abdulla Shahid 41 PNC Mohamed Muizzu 16 Democrats Mohamed Nasheed 13 JP Qasim Ibrahim 2 MDA Ahmed Shiyam Mohamad 2 Independents – 4 Incumbent Speaker Mohamed Aslam MDP

Parliamentary elections were held in the Maldives on 21 April 2024,^[1] previously scheduled on 17 March 2024.^[2] The election date was changed to April after President Mohamed Muizzu ratified election postponement bill by Parliament 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]

Background[edit]

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.^[6]

Electoral system[edit]

The 93 seats in the People's Majlis are elected in single-member constituencies using the first-past-the-post system.^[7] Prior to the elections, the number of seats was increased from 87 to 93, with six new seats created.^[8] In the election, 98 constituencies are being contested by a total of 368 candidates, while around 284,000 people are eligible to vote.^[1]

Constituencies[edit]

Seats in the parliament are split in conformity of Article 10 of the Electoral Constituencies Act which emphasizes stabilization of equal balance amid representation of parliamentary seats. The Act stipulates that two representatives must be appointed for a populace of 5000 or fewer in an administrative division with an additional seat allocated to account for a population surge of another 5000 constituents.^[9]

Consequent to the observation of population increases across several regions within the last five years, the current number of constituencies has increased to 93 with six new constituencies added to the earlier 87 seats in the 19th parliamentary term.^[10][11]

List[edit]

Campaign[edit]

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 have been raised regarding the restrictions imposed by this code on freedom of expression and campaigning.^[12]

Despite these concerns, the campaign leading up to the parliamentary elections was relatively peaceful. The Maldives Police Service indicated that they do not anticipate any major disruptions, disturbances, or protests either during the campaign period or on Election Day. However, there are potential risks of some disturbances, particularly due to the alleged links of several candidates to gangs.^[12]

One key concern is 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.^[12]

People's National Congress[edit]

With President Mohamed Muizzu assuming his role as executive during the parliamentary elections held in 2023, the country’s politics has been dominated by his affiliated coalition, People's National Congress (PNC), which formed an alliance with the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM).^[13]

For this election, the PPM-PNC coalition solely fielded candidates from PNC, contesting to secure all but three seats this term. The constituencies they had relinquished offers leeway for political leaders of Jumhooree Party (Qasim Ibrahim vying for the Maamigili seat), Maldives Development Alliance (MDA)'s Ahmed Siyam running for the Meedhoo Constituency and Maldives National Party (MNP)'s Mohamed Nazim contesting for the North Maafannu seat, with Special Advisor to the President, Abdul Raheem Abdulla affirming that these seats were forfeited in a bid to display respect to these leaders.^[13]

Candidates[edit]

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

Results[edit]

References[edit]