PPM stronghold Guraidhoo parliament seat falls to MDP
The seat fell vacant after opposition PPM's Ibrahim Riza, who held the seat for the last three terms, passed away in February.
Main ruling MDP on Saturday won the the by-election to the K. Guraidhoo parliamentary seat, ending the long-held control of opposition PPM in the constituency.
The parliamentary seat in Guraidhoo constituency fell vacant after opposition PPM's Ibrahim Riza, who held the seat for the last three terms, passed away in late February while undergoing treatment for cancer.
Three candidates from three different parties are in the fray:
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Hussain Riza Adam, Seaweed/K. Guraidhoo (PPM) – He is the brother of former MP Ibrahim Riza
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Ibrahim Shaz, Fiveros/K. Guraidhoo (MDP)
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Ali Areef, Fiyathoshige/K. Guraidhoo (MNP)
Polling took place in three islands of the constituency as well as in capital Male.
Provisional results show MDP's Shaz winning 1,346 votes, while PPM's Riza secured 1,226 votes. MNP's Areef received 122 votes.
Elections Commission said 2,755 out of the 3,423 eligible voters or 80.4% voted in the election despite it being the fasting month of Ramadan and heavy rains across all islands in the constituency as well as in Male.
Polling was largely peaceful.
However, the Elections Commission's decision to extend the voting time by an hour citing bad weather drew criticism from the opposition PPM and MNP. The parties said that they were not consulted before the announcement.
