Voting for the second round of Presidential Election 2023 is scheduled to commence country-wide at 0800hrs of September 30. Following the initial round of elections held earlier this month, the presidential candidates have diligently wrapped up their campaigns, concluding at 1800hrs on September 29, 2023.
The electoral showdown features two prominent candidates: Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, the presidential hopeful representing the People's National Congress (PNC) as candidate number 4, and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the presidential candidate of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) as candidate number 3.
In the first round of the presidential election that conducted on September 9, Dr. Muizzu emerged as the frontrunner with an impressive 46.06% of the vote, while President Solih secured 39.05%, solidifying their positions as the primary contenders for this runoff.
Notably, the initial round also saw The Democrats candidate Ilyas Labeeb in third place, followed by independent candidate Umar Naseer in fourth, and Jumhooree Party (JP) candidate Qasim Ibrahim in fifth. Meanwhile, independent candidate Faris Maumoon claimed sixth place, with Maldives National Party (MNP) candidate Mohamed Nazim in seventh, and independent presidential candidate Hassan Zameel taking the eighth spot.
As the nation awaits the decisive second round, both leading candidates have actively engaged with their respective supporters and political parties. While they extended invitations to form coalitions during the first round, Jumhooree Party (JP), The Democrats, Faris Maumoon, and Umar Naseer, who ran independently in the election, chose not to align with any party. In a notable move, Nazim lent his support to the PNC.
A total of 282,804 individuals are eligible to vote in the second round of the presidential election, surpassing the 282,395 voters in the first round. To accommodate the increase, 285,631 ballot papers have been meticulously printed for the second round, compared to 285,219 in the initial round.
Furthermore, the number of ballot boxes deployed for this round has seen an increase, with 586 ballot boxes placed compared to 574 in the first round. In a bid to facilitate maximum participation, the ECM has extended the polling hours for the second round of presidential elections, allowing voting to take place from 0800hrs to 1700hrs, ensuring that voters have ample time to exercise their fundamental democratic rights.
Meanwhile, ECM has placed ballot boxes in five countries for this year's presidential election. As such, ECM decided to establish polling stations in Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Trivandrum in India, Colombo in Sri Lanka, Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia, and London in the United Kingdom (UK).
Voting will commence at 0800hrs and conclude at 1700hrs in Abu Dhabi. In Trivandrum, Colombo, and London, voting will start at 0830hrs and close at 1730hrs. Voting in Kuala Lumpur will begin at 1100hrs and wrap up at 2000hrs.