Adeel retracts name from PNC's ticket for Addu Mayor

The Education Ministry's State Minister Dr. Ahmed Adeel Naseer has retracted his name from the ruling party PNC's primary for the ticket for Addu Mayor.

An official from PNC told Mihaaru News that Adeel retracted his name of his own volition yesterday evening. However, a close associate of Adeel's stated that after some campaigning was done for the primary, he had retracted his name upon the request of some party leaders.

With Adeel having retracted his name, Mushrif Ali received the PNC ticket to run for Addu Mayor in the Local Council Election, with today's Addu Mayor primary being called off.

Adeel, who was the previous principal of Addu's Sharafuddin School, posted on Facebook yesterday, stating that he realized that PNC's efforts to change the situation in Addu showed that PNC's Addu members had also been looking forward to the opportunity.

"I am grateful to God for what he has bestowed upon me, and I thank everyone who supported me. I give my complete assurance to the residents of Addu that I will always keep a strong determination when it comes to the development work of Addu," said Adeel.

Adeel had worked as the running mate for MNP's Presidential candidiate Mohamed Nazim during the 2023 Presidential Election. He also ran as an independent candidate for the South Hithadhoo constituency during the 2019 Parliamentary Elections. However, the seat was won by MDP candidate Ibrahim Nazil.

As per PNC, a total of 308 candidates will be running in the primary, which includes 183 for councils and 121 for the Women's Development Committee.

PNC's manager for the election Inguraidhoo constituency Ibrahim Falah has told Mihaaru News that their party's candidates will run for all constituencies. He also said that candidates who receive a ticket without going to the primary will be able to see it via the portal.

This time around, PNC has decided to conduct the primary voting relative to the voters' home islands.

PNC estimates that when all their candidates from all constituencies run for the election, 26,000 people will vote in the primary.

The Local Council and WDC elections are set for April 4, 2026. A total of 1,362 positions will be filled across the country, with 681 seats available in both the local councils and the women's committees.