News Desk
President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has renewed his push to hold the presidential and Majlis elections on the same day, saying the current gap between the two polls weakens every new administration before it can begin governing.
Speaking during his meeting with youth on Sung TV’s “Espresso with the President”, President Muizzu said the six month delay between the two elections has repeatedly stalled national progress. The Election Commission is preparing for Saturday’s referendum on whether the polls should be synchronised.
He said Maldivians elect a government to serve a full five year term, yet every administration has faced obstruction in Majlis from its first day. Holding both elections together, he argued, would give political parties a fairer chance at “equal representation” in the Majlis.
“The newly elected government has not been able to do anything for the people during those six months,” he said. “If the elections are held on the same day, it is easier to start work from the first day.”
President Muizzu pointed to recent electoral patterns in the Maldives, where ruling parties have often secured large majorities in Majlis. He said synchronised elections would likely produce a legislature divided across two or three major parties, reducing the dominance of any single bloc.
He cited past presidential results to show how closely the two main parties have performed: MDP at 54 percent and DRP at 46 percent in 2008; PPM at 53 percent in 2013; MDP at 48 percent in 2018; and PNC at 54 percent against MDP’s 46 percent in 2023. With such narrow margins, he said, turnout would rise and the majlis would more accurately reflect the balance of national support.
“The ruling party or the outgoing party is also contesting. But what guarantee do they have that they will be elected? So they will not get the opportunity to go to the people while in government,” he said. He argued that holding both elections together gives all sides an equal chance to enter the Majlis.
President Muizzu described the proposal as a step toward a “free and fair” electoral environment, saying reforms should be made without self interest. With PNC MPs and independent members, he said, Majlis already has the numbers to reach a supermajority of 80 seats if constitutional amendments are required.
Responding to opposition claims that synchronising the elections would reduce the time leaders spend meeting voters, President Muizzu dismissed the concern. “That is not the characteristic of leaders who come out to serve the people in good faith,” he said.
Saturday’s referendum will decide whether the Maldives adopts the model the President has repeatedly championed: a single national polling day that he says would give any future government a stronger and more orderly start.
