Ruling People's National Congress (PNC) Parliamentary Group Leader and Campaign Manager Ibrahim Falah has stated that no independent candidates contesting in the upcoming Local Council Elections will be endorsed by the party.
Speaking at the event held last night to inaugurate the Maafannu campaign hub, Falah said that 'two parties' are competing in these elections. He said that parties who had been vocal also failed to put forward candidates.
Falah noted that only four candidates have been named by some parties, and that there are a significantly high number of independent candidates. He rejected rumours that some of the independent candidates were affiliated with the ruling party.
Falah then said that some candidates believe that they can run independently and win seats for their personal benefit.
These candidates believe that once elected, they can then sign up for some political party and reap some benefits in this way, he alleged.
Falah asserted that this government will only endorse candidates running on PNC tickets.
"There are no independent candidates that PNC supports. PNC candidates are those contesting on PNC tickets. This is something I am saying to all islands of Maldives," Falah stated.
Falah said that it is of the highest priority for both President Dr Mohamed Muizzu and PNC itself to have party candidates elected.
There are a total of 2,994 candidates contesting in the April 2 Local Council and Women's Development Committee (WDC) elections.
Candidate numbers by party
- PNC - 665 candidates
- MDP - 495 candidates
- Jumhoori Party - 8 candidates
- MDA - 31 candidates
- The Democrats - 8 candidates
- Adhaalath Party - 3 candidates
The Local Council Election will see 678 seats filled, as will the WDC elections. With this, a total of 1356 individuals will be elected.
