President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih on Tuesday night expressed confidence in improving voter turnout after a record-low number of people cast their ballots in last Saturday's presidential election.
During a meeting with Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) campaign teams, the president noted that the turnout was down to 80 percent from between 87 to 90 percent in previous elections.
"This is not something faced before in Maldives elections. I'm certain that if we manage to work we can produce a better turnout. Considering the statistics, a lot of our pledged voters or supporters did not vote," he said.
The president said the reasons for people not turning up to vote should be identified. The campaign should find out whether those who did not vote had been unable to travel or vote before polls closed.
"Lists have been compiled based on this. We have now prepared separately for each box. We should go forward with that. I'm certain that God willing in the 17 days left we will be able to turn this around and win this election with a wide margin," Solih said.
Results from all 574 ballot boxes show opposition Progressive Party of Maldives-People's National Congress (PPM-PNC) candidate Dr. Mohamed Muizzu in the lead.
President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate, trailed behind with 38.2 percent.
With a gap of more than 15,000 votes between the top two candidates, Muizzu won the most votes in all regions - including the capital Male' and Kulhudhuffushi city - except President Solih's native Lhaviyani atoll and running mate Mohamed Aslam's Addu city.
