2018 Maldivian presidential election

Last updated

2018 Maldivian presidential election
Flag of Maldives.svg
←  2013 23 September 2018 2023  →
Turnout89.22%
  Ibrahim Mohamed Solih official portrait (cropped).jpg Abdulla Yameen portrait.jpg
Nominee Ibrahim Mohamed Solih Abdulla Yameen
Party MDP PPM
Running mate Faisal Naseem Mohamed Shaheem
Popular vote134,70596,052
Percentage58.38%41.62%
President before election

Abdulla Yameen
PPM

Elected President

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih
MDP

Presidential elections were held in the Maldives on Sunday, 23 September 2018. [1] Incumbent president Abdulla Yameen of the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) was seeking re-election for a second five-year term. His only challenger was Ibrahim Mohamed Solih of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), who was nominated as the joint candidate of a coalition of opposition parties.

The result was a surprise victory for Solih, who received over 58% of the vote and was elected as the seventh President of the Maldives. [2] He assumed office on 17 November 2018. Solih is the country's third democratically elected president since Mohamed Nasheed's victory over Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the 2008 elections which ended a 30-year incumbency.

Yameen is the fourth consecutive Maldivian president to have at some point lost a bid for re-election. Namely, Yameen himself came to office by defeating former president Mohamed Nasheed, who was running for a second non-consecutive term in 2013, after having resigned in 2012 during the 2011–12 Maldives political crisis. Nasheed's successor in office, his Vice President Mohammed Waheed Hassan also sought re-election in 2013, but decided not to contest the re-run after the initial election was annulled. Finally, Nasheed had been elected in the 2008 election by defeating long-term incumbent Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Electoral system

The Maldives has presidential system of governance where the president is both the head of state and head of government. Once in office, they could be re-elected to a second 5-year term, which is the limit allowed by the constitution. [3]

In the Maldives, the president is elected by a simple majority or more than fifty percent (50%) of the votes cast through direct-vote. When no candidate from the list of candidates does not receive a majority of the votes cast, the election then proceeds to a runoff (or second round), which are mandated to be held no less than 21 days following the election between the two candidates who received the most votes in the first round. In a runoff round, the candidates among the two who receive a majority of more than 50% of the valid votes cast, are elected to the office of the President. [3] [4]

The official results of the election are announced by the Elections Commission and published in the Government Gazette within seven days of the voting day of the presidential elections.

Candidates

Incumbent President Abdulla Yameen ran for re-election. [5] In February 2018 former President Mohamed Nasheed announced that he intended to contest the elections as the Maldivian Democratic Party candidate. [6] However, in June 2018 the party selected Ibrahim Mohamed Solih as its candidate after Nasheed withdrew his candidacy. [5]

Campaign

President Abdulla Yameen ran on a campaign of economic development and Islamism aimed at "courting religious vote", [7] claiming that the opposition was supported by Christian priests. [8]

During Yameen’s tenure, he sought closer ties with the Chinese government, signed a free trade agreement in 2014 and hired Chinese companies to build infrastructure projects funded by loans lent by the Chinese government, allowing them to expand the reach of their controversial Belt and Road Initiative to the Maldives and by extension, the Indian Ocean. Opposition activists and politicians criticized this move, stating that Yameen’s government was taking on an increasingly unmanageable amount of debt to the Chinese government, allowing the country to be entangled in its debt-trap, with some estimating that China held 80% of the Maldives’ sovereign debt, accounting for one-fourths of its GDP. [9] There were also major concerns that the government’s pursuance of closer relations with China would undermine their historically close relations with India. [10] [11]

A few days before the elections, Yameen promised to build housing for all citizens, as well as scrapping fines for traffic violations and utility bills. [8] Several hundred prisoners were also freed. [8]

Conduct

Prior to the elections, there were concerns about vote rigging by the government as Yameen had appointed one of his supporters, Ahmed Shareef, as head of the Electoral Commission. [12] International observers were banned from monitoring the elections and foreign media was heavily restricted. [10]

The police raided MDP's headquarters on the day before the elections, claiming there was an investigation into "distributing money to buy votes". [8] The raid was condemned by the American and British governments. [8] The European Union had said that it would not send election observers because the Maldives had failed to meet the basic conditions for monitoring, and the U.S. had threatened to sanction Maldivian officials if the elections were not free and fair. [13] President Yameen had previously restricted observers from seeing individual ballots, and had appointed 107 members of the ruling PPM party to administer and count the vote. [12] Some election observers were also denied entry to the country because they were not given a visa, [14] despite being registered with the Electoral Commission. [15] Foreign journalists were also required to have a Maldivian sponsor to participate, and some observers described having their visa applications denied for trivial reasons. [14]

On election day, voting was extended for three hours due to long queues. [10]

List of organizations represented by registered observers and monitors

Source: Maldives Electoral Commission [15]

International observers

International monitors

Rejected international monitors

Results

CandidateRunning matePartyVotes%
Ibrahim Mohamed Solih Faisal Naseem Maldivian Democratic Party 134,70558.38
Abdulla Yameen Mohamed Shaheem Progressive Party of Maldives 96,05241.62
Total230,757100.00
Valid votes230,75798.66
Invalid/blank votes3,1321.34
Total votes233,889100.00
Registered voters/turnout262,13589.22
Source: Elections Commission of the Maldives

Aftermath

Following the announcement of the results, Yameen challenged the outcome in the Supreme Court in October, claiming that the election had been rigged. He alleged that ballot papers treated to make any votes cast for him vanish and that voters planning on voting for him were given pens with disappearing ink. [16] His appeal was unanimously rejected by the court's judges, who stated that he had failed to prove the claims. [17]

Geopolitical implications

Maldives is of high geo-strategic importance due to its proximity to Indian Ocean sea lines of communication, Indian Navy base in Lakshadweep Islands and US Navy base in Diego Garcia. [18] Abdulla Yameen was seen by India as being too close to regional rival China. [19] India was particularly alarmed about Chinese Belt and Road Initiative projects in the Maldives and Chinese investments in Maldives were seen by India and the United States as a part of China's 'String of Pearls' strategy. [20] On the other hand, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had made repairing of ties with India as a key election plank. [20] According to The Nikkei , India's Modi administration had "spared no expense supporting local opposition parties by allotting tens of millions of dollars to intelligence agencies". [21]

The Financial Times declared the victory of Solih as a "diplomatic win" for India. [19] Following the declaration of election results, India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi called Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to congratulate him on his victory. [22] Solih reaffirmed commitment towards rebuilding ties with India and declared Maldives to be "India's closest ally". [23] The Observer Research Foundation noted that following the election results, "China will mount a major effort to protect its strategic investments and ongoing projects in Maldives" and that India will have to "use other tools to ensure that Maldives does not cross strategic red lines like allowing China to build military and security facilities on any island." [18]

Reactions

Notes

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Some, if not all members of the organization reported not receiving a visa, and thus were barred from entering the country

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of the Maldives</span>

The history of the Maldives is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions, comprising the areas of South Asia and Indian Ocean; and the modern nation consisting of 26 natural atolls, comprising 1194 islands. Historically, the Maldives held a strategic importance due to its location on the major marine routes of the Indian Ocean. The Maldives' nearest neighbours are the British Indian Ocean Territory, Sri Lanka and India. The United Kingdom, Sri Lanka and some Indian kingdoms have had cultural and economic ties with the Maldives for centuries. In addition to these countries, Maldivians also traded with Aceh and many other kingdoms in, what is today, Indonesia and Malaysia. The Maldives provided the main source of cowrie shells, then used as a currency throughout Asia and parts of the East African coast. Most probably Maldives were influenced by Kalingas of ancient India who were earliest sea traders to Sri Lanka and the Maldives from India and were responsible for the spread of Buddhism. Stashes of Chinese crockery found buried in various locations in the Maldives also show that there was direct or indirect trade contact between China and the Maldives. In 1411 and 1430, the Chinese admiral Zheng He 鄭和 visited the Maldives. The Chinese also became the first country to establish a diplomatic office in the Maldives, when the Chinese nationalist government based in Taipei opened an embassy in Malé in 1966. This office has since been replaced by the embassy of the People's Republic of China.

The politics of the Maldives take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the Head of Government. Executive power is exercised by the government. The President heads the executive branch and appoints the Cabinet; like many presidential democracies, each member of the cabinet need to be approved by the Parliament. The President, along with their pick for vice president, is directly elected by the denizens to a five-year term by a secret ballot. Once in office, they could be re-elected to a second 5-year term, which is the limit allowed by the Constitution. The current President of the Maldives is Mohamed Muizzu, when his predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih lost the 2023 Maldivian presidential election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maumoon Abdul Gayoom</span> President of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician who served as President of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. After serving as transport minister, he was nominated president by the People's Majlis and succeeded Ibrahim Nasir in 1978. He was defeated in 2008 during the first Presidential Elections after democratic reforms in the Maldives. He holds the nations highest award, "The Most Honourable Order of Distinguished Rule of Ghaazee", presented to him in 2013. Maumoon was the longest-serving president in Asia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Maldivian Democratic Party</span> Political party in the Maldives

The Maldivian Democratic Party is the first political party formed in the Republic of Maldives with a total membership of 52,142 individuals as of 5 March 2024.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohamed Nasheed</span> President of the Maldives from 2008 to 2012

Mohamed Nasheed GCSK, also known as Anni, is a Maldivian politician and activist who served as president of the Maldives from 2008 until his resignation in 2012. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Party, he subsequently served as the 19th speaker of the People's Majlis from May 2019 until his resignation in November 2023. He is the first democratically elected president of the Maldives and the only president to resign from office. He is currently a member of The Democrats.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Adhaalath Party</span> Political party in the Maldives

The Adhaalath Party is a political party in the Maldives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mohammed Waheed Hassan</span> President of the Maldives from 2012 to 2013

Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 7 February 2012 to 17 November 2013, having succeeded to the office following the resignation of President Mohamed Nasheed, under whom he served as Vice President. He had previously worked as a news anchor, a teacher, a principle, a United Nations international civil servant with UNICEF, UNDP and UNESCO, and as member of the Maldivian Parliament.

Presidential elections were held in the Maldives on 8 and 23 October 2008, the first democratic elections in the country. As no candidate won a majority in the first round, a runoff was held on 28 October between the two candidates among the contestants who received the most votes, incumbent president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and Mohamed Nasheed, who received the second most votes after Gayoom in the first round. Nasheed was elected to the office after winning a majority in the runoff, unseating incumbent president Gayoom who held the office for six terms, lasting three decades.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Muad Mohamed Zaki</span>

Muad Mohamed Zaki is one of the founders of the Maldives multi-party democratic system. His from a prominent left-wing political and business family in the Maldives. He migrated to Malaysia with his family in the 1990s after political turmoil in the Maldives that temporarily drove out large private business owners from the country. His father, Dato' Mohamed Zaki, is a highly respected figure in the Maldives by presidents and other political figures. The family owns a well-known multinational firm named Nazaki Group of Companies, which pioneered international trade between Malaysia and the Maldives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ameen Faisal</span>

Ameen Faisal is the former National Security Advisor and former Minister of Defence and National Security of the Republic of Maldives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progressive Party of Maldives</span> Islamist political party in the Maldives

The Progressive Party of Maldives, is an Islamist political party in the Maldives with a total membership of 36,223 as of 5 March 2024. The stated goal of the party is driving Maldives towards an independent and democratic, safe and secure, high income, high human capital, developed nation state with a diversified and robust economy whilst preserving its Islamic heritage.

Presidential elections were held in the Maldives on 7, 9 and 16 November 2013. The first round was held on 7 September. As no candidate received a majority, a second round was planned to be held in 28 September between the candidates who received the most votes in the first round, former President Mohamed Nasheed and Abdulla Yameen, paternal half-brother of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom. Incumbent President Mohammed Waheed Hassan was eliminated in the first round after receiving less votes than three other candidates.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Abdulla Yameen</span> President of the Maldives from 2013 to 2018

Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2013 to 2018.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">China–Maldives relations</span> Bilateral relations

Diplomatic relations between the People's Republic of China and the Maldives were established in 1972. China has an embassy in Malé which opened in November 2011, and the Maldives has an embassy in Beijing which opened in 2009. Approximately 70 percent of the Maldives' total debt is attributed to Chinese projects, with an annual payment of US$92 million to China, constituting around 10 percent of the country's entire budget. China has become pervasive in the Maldives, exerting influence over infrastructure, trade, and energy sectors, raising concerns of a new form of Chinese entrapment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ibrahim Mohamed Solih</span> President of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, commonly known as Ibu, is a Maldivian politician who served as president of the Maldives from 2018 to 2023.

Parliamentary elections were held in the Maldives on 6 April 2019. The result was a landslide victory for the Maldivian Democratic Party, which won 65 of the 87 seats in the People's Majlis. This was the first time in Maldivian history that one party was able to secure a supermajority in parliament.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Maldivian presidential election</span>

Presidential elections were held in the Maldives on Saturday, 9 September 2023, with a second round held on 30 September. Incumbent president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was seeking re-election, after defeating the-then Speaker of the People's Majlis Mohamed Nasheed in the Maldivian Democratic Party primaries. People's National Congress candidate and Malé mayor Mohamed Muizzu won the election with 54% of the votes, defeating Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and becoming President-elect of the Maldives. It was the fourth consecutive election in which a Maldivian president failed to win reelection, the last to do so having been Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who ran unopposed, in 2003.

The following lists events that happened during 2023 in the Maldives.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2024 India–Maldives diplomatic row</span>

In January 2024, relations between India and Maldives, traditionally close neighbors with strong historical and cultural ties, became strained due to derogatory remarks by Maldivian cabinet ministers and concerns over racism, targeted towards Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi as well as India.

References

  1. ↑ "Statement by the Elections Commission of Maldives Regarding Procedures for Vote Counting at Polling Stations". Elections Commission of Maldives. 19 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  2. ↑ "Maldives opposition candidate wins pres polls". Avas. 23 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  3. 1 2 "Comparative Data — Maldives". Ace Project . Archived from the original on 2 October 2023. Retrieved 1 October 2023.
  4. ↑ "Constitution of the Maldives" (PDF). The President's Office . Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 April 2024. Retrieved 13 April 2024.
  5. 1 2 Junayd, Mohamed (1 July 2018). "Maldives opposition selects veteran Ibrahim Solih for September presidential poll". Reuters . Archived from the original on 17 November 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  6. ↑ Lang, Olivia (2 February 2018). "Maldives ex-leader Mohamed Nasheed to contest elections". BBC . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  7. ↑ Rasheed, Zareena; Afeef, Isha (22 September 2018). "Maldives police remove 'anti-Islamic idols' in luxury resort raid". Al Jazeera . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 Rasheed, Zaheena; Afeef, Isha (22 September 2018). "Maldives police raid opposition headquarters on eve of election". Al Jazeera . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  9. ↑ Desai, Ronak D. (29 October 2018). "With A New President, Can The Maldives Escape China's Debt Trap?". Forbes . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  10. 1 2 3 Lang, Olivia (24 September 2018). "Maldives election: Ibrahim Mohamed Solih claims victory". BBC . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  11. ↑ Ramachandran, Sudha (8 February 2018). "India and the Maldives Emergency". The Diplomat . Archived from the original on 5 June 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  12. 1 2 Rasheed, Zaheena; Afeef, Isha (19 September 2018). "Maldives voters fear fraud as high-stakes election looms". Al Jazeera . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  13. ↑ Mallawarachi, Bharatha (26 September 2018). "PICS: Maldives president concedes election defeat". Independent Online . Associated Press. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  14. 1 2 "Election monitors and observers lack Maldives visa". Maldives Independent. 21 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  15. 1 2 "Press Release: Statement by Elections Commission of Maldives regarding the International Observers and International Monitors" (Press release). Elections Commission of Maldives. 20 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 27 September 2018.
  16. ↑ "Toppled Maldives Leader Blames Election Defeat On "Disappearing Ink"". NDTV . Agence France-Presse. 15 October 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  17. ↑ "Maldives strongman's election defeat upheld by Supreme Court". The Straits Times . 22 October 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  18. 1 2 Chakravarty, Pinak Ranjan (26 September 2018). "The Maldives poll results are an opportunity for India to gain lost ground". The Hindustan Times . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  19. 1 2 "Advantage India in struggle with China over Maldives" . Financial Times. 24 September 2018.
  20. 1 2 Junayd, Mohamed (25 September 2018). "Opposition victory in Maldives deals potential blow to China". Reuters . Archived from the original on 7 November 2023. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  21. ↑ Kuronuma, Yuji; Nagai, Oki (25 September 2018). "Maldives election marks setback for China's Belt and Road". The Nikkei . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  22. 1 2 "PM Modi calls up Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, conveys wishes to strengthen democracy in Maldives". The Indian Express . 24 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  23. ↑ Chandler, Clay; Barrett, Famon (29 September 2018). "US-China Relations: The Big Chill" . Fortune . Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  24. ↑ "China urges 'stability' in Maldives after opposition wins presidential election". Reuters . 25 September 2018. Archived from the original on 28 November 2022. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  25. ↑ "Maldives election: India congratulates Opposition candidate Solih". The Hindu . 24 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  26. ↑ "Maldives presidential elections: Pakistan Foreign Office official response". Times of Islamabad. 24 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
  27. ↑ "US lauds Ibrahim Solih on Maldives election victory". Business Standard . ANI. 25 September 2018. Archived from the original on 17 April 2024. Retrieved 17 April 2024.
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