More voters should not be a concern for presidential candidates: MDP

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) on Tuesday, responded to the opposition Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC) coalition, saying that the re-registration of more people to vote in the second round of the presidential election should not be a cause for concern for any candidate.

The opposition has raised allegations concerning thousands of individuals re-registering to vote in locations other than their place of residence for the second round of elections.

The Elections Commission (EC) reported that since the second round of re-registration opened on Friday, over 25,400 people have applied for re-registration so far.

Opposition PPM/PNC presidential candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu has raised concerns regarding the significant number of people applying for re-registration. Dr. Muizzu has called on political parties, international observers, and monitors to carefully investigate this matter.

In response to the allegations, party spokesperson Anas Abdul Sattar tweeted, "A presidential candidate should not be concerned about as many people as possible exercising their right to vote."

"It should be encouraged. It is a matter to be pleased about that so many are exercising that right," said Anas, who is also the Minister of State for Finance.

According to him, MDP is a well-planned political party.

"So far, PPM has attempted to develop the party by misusing state resources during President Yameen's tenure," Anas said.

In the first round of elections, a significant number of people did not turn up to vote, exceeding 50,000 individuals. This election marks the lowest turnout so far, according to the Elections Commission.

MDP has been actively filling out forms and facilitating online re-registration at party hubs. They said that the low number of votes cast for the party was due to the low voter turnout.

The second round of the presidential election is being contested by the opposition presidential candidate of PPM/PNC, Dr. Muizzu, who secured the most votes in the first round, and the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) presidential candidate and incumbent president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

The second round of the election is scheduled for September 30.