MDP accuses PPM of swindling re-registration

MDP has accused the opposition PPM-PNC of re-registering those supporting MDP presidential candidate, President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih fraudulently, in a bid to influence the second round of presidential elections scheduled to be held on September 30.

The deadline for re-registration to vote in the second round of the presidential election expired at 4pm on Sunday. More than 25,000 people have submitted forms to re-register, the Elections Commission said.

The opposition has expressed concern that the re-registration of so many people in just two days is questionable. The coalition’s presidential candidate, Dr Mohamed Muizz also accused the government of fraudulent re-registration in order to disrupt the election results.

Shortly after the opposition made allegations about re-registration, the MDP issued a statement accusing the opposition of deceiving supporters of President Solih and re-registering them to remote places.

“The opposition is spreading rumors that this campaign is unduly influencing the Election Commission’s re-registration process in order to disrupt the presidential election as they are convinced that they will lose,” the statement said.

The Elections Commission has said that action will be taken against the person who submits an invalid form.

Official results of the presidential election on September 9 show main opposition PPM-PNC's Dr Mohamed Muizz leading the polls with 46%, while President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih secured 39%.

To win outright, a candidate needs more than 50% of the votes. As no candidate crossed the threshold, a runoff between the top two contenders will take place on September 30.