Voters in Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo have decided to leave the Addu city council and establish separate island councils.
In Hulhudhoo, 720 voted in favour of a separate council, while 325 voted against.
In Meedhoo, 841 voted to form a separate council, while 144 voted to remain part of the city council.
But the voters in Feydhoo decided against separation and voted to remain with the city council.
Voting was held from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm in the referendum to divide the southern city's council.
A referendum was held in Addu on October 9, 2010, to see whether the atoll should be declared a city.
During the vote, Hulhudhoo supported the formation of a city council while Meedhoo voted against it.
The combined population of Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo is 6,845. With the results of today's referendum, the new island councils are expected to receive a budget of MVR 12 million and MVR 15 million respectively.
The Decentralisation Act requires seven members to be elected to the council for each island with a population of more than 3,000.
The seven-member island councils will be paid MVR 135,500 per month. This is MVR 1.6 million per year and MVR 8.1 million over five years on salaries.
This is the first time a city council has been altered since the Decentralisation Act came into force 15 years ago.
Despite the separation, Addu will remain a city because the population in Hithadhoo alone is nearly 17,000 people.
