Meekail alleges irregularities in MDP chairperson election

Galolhu South MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem has alleged irregularities in the ongoing Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairperson election, claiming that some members intending to vote for him were removed from voters' lists and that parts of the electoral process were not being conducted fairly.

Speaking to reporters after casting his vote at Galolhu Madharusa in Malé on Friday, Meekail said data available to his campaign indicated that he was leading the election despite the issues reported during voting.

The election, which began at 2:30 pm, is scheduled to continue until 8:30 pm.

Meekail's comments came amid reports of disruptions at several polling stations.

In GDh. Fiyoari, a ballot box was broken open following unrest after some voters reportedly found that their names were missing from the polling list. Voting later resumed at the polling station.

In F. Feeali, voting was suspended after the island's ballot box was removed from the polling centre.

Addressing the incidents, Meekail alleged that a number of actions had affected the conduct of the election.

According to him, representatives supporting his campaign were denied access passes in some islands while voting proceeded, some voters were being asked to cast ballots into a box that had been opened, and names of certain members had been removed from voters' lists.

"This is a scene I never wished to see in an internal MDP election. This is not the MDP we envision," Meekail said.

He called on the party's Elections Committee to ensure that the election is conducted freely and fairly and urged members to participate in the vote.

Three candidates are contesting the election for MDP chairperson: former President Mohamed Nasheed, Ibrahim Mohamed (Wade), and Meekail Ahmed Naseem.

The election is one of the party's most closely watched internal contests in recent years, with members voting to select the next chairperson of the opposition party.