Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chairman Fayyaz Ismail called on supporters not to lose hope after failing to win as many votes as expected in Saturday’s presidential election.
People's National Congress (PNC) presidential candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu was the clear frontrunner with 45 percent (100,691 votes), setting up a run-off against President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who came second with 38 percent (85,260 votes).
Fayyaz said late on Saturday night that the party should start working towards winning the second round scheduled to take place on September 30.
“Not getting the result that we hoped for is sad. However, with God’s will, it is becoming certain that we’re getting the chance for a second round. So we should roll up our sleeves and start working stronger than before,” Fayyaz said.
Before the election, Solih and the MDP hoped to secure victory in one round. The president had said that he was assured of 130,000 votes.
"I have complete certainty of taking this election in one round. Even assuming that 90 percent of the people will vote, we have secured 130,000 votes even today. This is not a number that any rival can reach in the future," Solih said last week.
As voting was taking place on Saturday, Solih told the press that he expected a turnout of 90 percent from the 282,395 eligible voters. But the turnout only reached 79 percent.
