Changes for round two of the elections

The Maldives is now gearing up for the second round of voting for the 2023 Presidential election. The first round which was held on 9 September 2023 saw competitive numbers between the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) and the coalition between the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and the People’s National Congress (PNC). 

With the next round of voting set for 30th September 2023, the Elections Commission (EC) of the Maldives has also announced that they will be extending the voting hours until 17:00 hrs on the second round. On the first round of the elections, the polling stations were closed for anyone who came to vote after 16:00 hrs, however, those who lined up before the deadline were still allowed to cast their votes.

Even with this, the voter turnout was lower than previous elections with 79 percent of people showing up to vote, the lowest turnout in recent history of presidential elections. This low voter turnout was already foreshadowed by a low percentage of vote re-registration as well. 

In addition to the extended hour to cast votes, the EC has also announced that they are opening the vote re-registration for two days, September 16 and September 17.