The main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)’s candidate, Adam Azim has been elected as the new mayor of the Maldivian capital.
On Saturday, voters from the Maldivian capital elected Male’ City’s new mayor, and representatives to three additional seats at the council – the South Maafannu seat, Central Henveiru seat and South Henveiru seat.
Polls opened at 08:00 am and closed at 05:00 pm.
Preliminary results place Azim, the former CEO of Maldives Transport and Contracting Company (MTCC), in the lead in the mayoral race.
With 41 boxes counted, Azim has taken a huge lead with 5,303 votes.
The other mayoral candidates:
- Aishath Azima Shakoor, People’s National Congress (PNC): 3,301 votes
- Mohamed Saif Fathih, the Democrats: 1,634 votes
- Hussain Waheed, independent with People’s National Front (PNF) backing: 1,236 votes
- Shuaib Ali (Furahani Shuaib), independent: 91 votes
The by-elections had produced a low voter turnout. According to the Elections Commission (EC), only 17,500 out of 54,680 eligible voters took part in the elections.
Azim, the younger brother of Colonel (Retired) Mohamed Nazim, the leader of Maldives National Party (MNP) and parliamentary representative for Dhangethi constituency, had run projects worth millions under his direct supervision as MTCC’s chief during the MDP administration.
He previously headed other state companies, including the State Trading Organization (STO) and Male’ Water and Sewerage Company (MWSC).
The position of Male’ City mayor became vacant after President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu resigned to take office as the Maldivian president in November 2023.
Meanwhile, the three other seats at the council were vacated after councilors resigned to assume positions at the new administration. They are; Abdulla Nasir, who represented South Maafannu constituency; Adam Rameez, who represented Central Henveiru constituency; and Fathimath Shamnaz Ali Saleem, who represented South Henveiru constituency.
