Ballot box vandalism and theft: No revotes in Feeali and Fiyoaree

The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has announced that it will not proceed with revotes in both F. Feeali and GDh. Fiyoaree following the results of the chairperson election.

During the internal election held last Friday, the ballot box in Feeali was reportedly stolen, while the ballot box in Fiyoaree was vandalized.

A local told Sun the ballot box was vandalized by an individual who insisted on remaining at the polling station without the required accreditation. The individual reportedly claimed to be a representative of a candidate, but did not possess the necessary credentials and was not listed on the voters' registry.

Meanwhile, a source from Feeali said that the ballot box on the island had been stolen and taken to a private residence. The source alleged that the act was carried out by supporters of former president Mohamed Nasheed, adding the ballot box had been missing since approximately 14:45pm.

Furthermore, the campaign team of candidate South Galolhu MP Meekail Ahmed Naseem has submitted a complaint alleging that voting in Feeali was being conducted with unofficial voters’ list.

Following these incidents, MDP had initially considered holding revotes in both islands.

However, speaking with Sun on Sunday, MDP Elections Committee’s chairperson Ibrahim Muizzu confirmed that revotes will not be held in Feeali and Fiyoaree in light of the fact that the current margin of victory is sufficiently high enough that results from those islands would not alter the overall outcome of the election.

According to provisional results released by the MDP on Saturday, former president Mohamed Nasheed secured a landslide victory with 21,301 votes, representing 68.9 percent of the valid votes cast. Meekail received 9,462 votes, while Ibrahim Mohamed secured 132 votes.

This marks the second time Nasheed has been elected MDP’s chairperson. He had served as the second chairperson of the main opposition party before his election as the Maldivian president in 2008.