President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has stated that he is preparing for the second round of the presidential election.
Speaking to journalists after leaving his campaign office following the announcement of the preliminary results, President Solih said that he would formulate a new plan for the second round. He also said that he would focus on areas that he had neglected in his initial campaign. Responding to a question on whether he would seek the support of Speaker of Parliament Mohamed Nasheed, he said he will need to make allies for the second round, noting that the main opposition will be doing the same.
President Solih and opposition People's National Congress (PNC) candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu have moved on to the second round after failing to gain 50% of the votes to win the election. The preliminary results show that Dr. Muizzu received 46.06% or 101,635 votes while President Solih received 39.05% or 86,161 votes.
The preliminary results also show that The Democrats candidate Ilyas Labeeb is in third place with 7.18% or 15,839 votes while Umar Naseer is in fourth with 2.87% or 6,343 votes and Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate Qasim Ibrahim is in fifth with 2.47% or 5,460 votes. In addition, independent candidate Faris Maumoon received 1.35% or 2,979 votes while Maldives National Party (MNP) candidate Mohamed Nazim received 0.86% or 1,907 votes and independent candidate Hassan Zameel received 0.15% or 327 votes.
The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has stated that 282,395 were eligible to vote while 225,486 had cast their ballot. A total of 4,835 ballots were invalid. This year's presidential election saw the least voter turnout in the country's history, with 79% of eligible voters casting their ballot. The second round of the election is scheduled for September 30.