Presidential candidate for the opposition coalition, Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, said on Saturday evening that he had achieved a significant victory despite the obstacles posed by the current administration. He made this remark after taking the lead in the election ahead of the current president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
Dr. Muizzu, the candidate for the People’s National Congress (PNC) and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), has advanced to the second round of the election with a significant lead. The closely contested vote in the second round between Muizzu and President Solih will take place on September 30.
Speaking to the media for the first time after the preliminary results were announced, Dr. Muizzu said he is grateful to the support and trust put in him by the people and this was a huge win for the citizens.
"To be honest, this is a very joyful day for me. The Maldivian people have come out and set a great example of nationalism despite the various obstacles placed in front of them. This gives us a lot of strength," Dr. Muizzu said.
He said that during the 28 days of their election campaign, they observed that the Maldivian people were prepared for a change in administration and were leaning toward the opposition. Dr. Muizzu pointed out that the current administration had affected people's job security, yet despite these challenges, the people chose to prioritize the nation's welfare.
Dr. Muizzu said he hopes he can win the second round of elections with a large lead. He is confident he can win this after visiting the people and campaigning for himself.
He said the party leadership will discuss what other political parties they will ally with in the second round. So far, there has been no decision regarding a coalition.
“We have two, three weeks more. God willing, we will win with the trust and the support of the citizens,” Dr. Muizzu said.
“We want to find Maldivian’s country and overcome the country’s issues, to ensure our independence, secure development, and find a way to kickstart the economy,” said Dr. Muizzu, who is the current mayor of Malé.
Dr. Muizzu received over 46 percent of the votes, which is more than 101,000 votes, while President Solih received approximately 39 percent of the votes, which is roughly 86,000 votes. To secure the election, a candidate needs more than 50 percent of the votes.
The candidate with the third-highest number of votes was Ilyas Labeeb from The Democrats, who received approximately 15 percent of the votes.
Defying exceptions of victory for Presidential candidate for Jumhooree Party (JP) Qasim Ibrahim did not manage to collect a large number of votes. He received only 2.5 percent of the votes. Maldives National Party (MNP) candidate, former defense minister Mohamed Nazim did received less than one percent of the votes.
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