President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has congratulated Dr. Mohamed Muizzu for winning the second round of the presidential election.
In a tweet, President Solih thanked the citizens for upholding democratic principles during the election as well as members of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Adhaalath Party and all his supporters for voting for him. Vice President Faisal Naseem has also congratulated President-Elect Muizzu and Vice President-Elect Hussain Mohamed Latheef and encouraged them to lead the nation with honour and integrity.
A second round of the presidential election was scheduled after none of the candidates received 50% of the votes to win in the first round. The two candidates who had moved on to the second round were Muizzu, the candidate of the opposition People's National Congress (PNC), who received 46% in the first round, and President Solih, the candidate of MDP, who received 39%.
Around 80% of eligible voters cast their ballot in the first round of the presidential election, which is the lowest voter turnout in the country's history. However, 87% of the 282,804 eligible voters exercised their right to vote in the second round.
Dr. Muizzu secured 126,586 votes in the second round of the presidential election, which is 54% of the total ballots cast. In contrast, Incumbent President Solih garnered 107,611 votes, securing 46% of the vote, resulting in a margin of over 19,000 votes in favour of Dr. Muizzu.
The preliminary results show that Dr. Muizzu won the majority in all but two atolls while President Solih secured the majority vote in Alifu Alifu Atoll and Addu City. In addition, Dr. Muizzu secured the majority vote in the Greater Male' Region.