The Elections Commission of the Maldives (ECM) has revealed that the official results of the presidential election will be announced by October 8. The electoral body stated that the process of publishing the preliminary results has been completed.
The preliminary results show that Dr. Mohamed Muizzu secured 129,159 votes in the second round of the presidential election, which is 54% of the total ballots cast. In contrast, incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih garnered 109,868 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.
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. In addition, Close to 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.
ECM has described this year's presidential election as the most well-executed in the country's history, highlighting the exemplary behaviour of voters who waited patiently in line at the polling stations. The commission stated that the election was perfectly executed and showed an example for the rest of the world, highlighting that the Maldives has been praised for its electoral process.
Additionally, ECM stated that a special ceremony will be held to hand over a certificate to the winner of the presidential election to officially recognise him as the President-elect. ECM will award the certificate after announcing the official election results, which would be a first for the commission.