President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has won the presidential primary of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP). The preliminary results showed President Solih secured 62% of the votes.
Speaking to PSM News, Chairman of the Election Committee Ibrahim Waheed said the results of all the ballot boxes have now been received and the result sheets are now being entered. He said there are some social media showing that people who are not on the MDP registry voting. He noted the party has systems in place to deal with such cases. He added the voting process was closely monitored.
Responding to the election win, the campaign team of President Solih has begun congratulating him. As such, Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid expressed the win is a clear endorsement of the president's forward looking policies and inclusive leadership.
Speaking to the media after voting at the polling station at Iskandar School in the presidential primary election, President Solih said there had not been incidents of vote-rigging in any internal election of the party lauding the arrangements. He also said the arrangements for the election were made by experienced individuals.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed contested in the MDP primary election. Over 57,000 members were eligible to vote in the primary. It is the first time a sitting president is contesting in a party primary in the Maldives.