Shahid accuses govt of election influence via preferential voting
President Muizzu has previously stated that he intends to amend the current two-round voting system for presidential elections.
Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) President Abdulla Shahid has accused the government of attempting to influence the outcome of the next presidential election by proposing a shift to a preferential voting system to avoid a second-round vote.
President Mohamed Muizzu has previously stated that he intends to amend the current two-round voting system for presidential elections. The proposed change would introduce a preferential voting system designed to conclude the election in a single round.
The government has indicated that it plans to seek public approval for the change through a referendum later this year. President Muizzu has also requested support from Parliament members representing the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) to facilitate the change. Meanwhile, government-aligned groups have launched a campaign on social media in support of preferential voting.
Speaking on the proposal, Shahid claimed that the government's intention is to manipulate the vote count through a method that delays the counting process and facilitates the centralisation of ballot boxes. He referred to the era of former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, stating that the proposed change, regardless of its title, was an attempt to influence the outcome of the election.
Shahid, who previously served as Speaker of Parliament, Minister of Foreign Affairs, and President of the United Nations General Assembly, urged the public not to support the proposed change. He stressed the importance of vote counting being conducted at polling stations and said the winning candidate should obtain at least 50 percent plus one of the total votes cast.
MDP Chairman Fayyaz Ismail also criticised the proposal, stating that it represents an attempt by the government to limit voting rights.
However, the proposal has received support from some political figures, including former MDP Presidents Ibrahim Ismail (Ibra) and Mohamed Nasheed.
Under the proposed preferential voting system:
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Voters rank candidates by preference, assigning “1” to their top choice, “2” to their next preferred candidate, and so on.
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Ballots must contain a unique ranking for all candidates. Ballots with duplicate rankings or missing rankings will be considered invalid.
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A candidate who receives more than 50 percent of the “1” rankings will be declared the winner.
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If no candidate receives a majority, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated, and the second preferences from those ballots are redistributed.
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This process continues with subsequent rounds of redistribution until a candidate secures more than 50 percent of the votes.
