The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) suffered a major setback in Saturday’s local council by-elections, as the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) secured a landslide victory across the country’s most populous cities.
Provisional results released by the Elections Commission (EC) show that the MDP won 46 out of the 52 contested seats, including mayoral positions. In contrast, the ruling PNC managed to secure only six seats.
The PNC failed to win a single seat on the Addu City Council, the nation's southernmost hub. The ruling party secured just one seat each in Kulhudhuffushi City and Fuvahmulah City, while obtaining two seats each in Thinadhoo City and Male' City.
Despite the PNC currently holding a majority in the Male' City Council, none of the incumbent PNC councillors who sought re-election were successful in retaining their seats.
Excluding Thinadhoo and Male', the MDP secured mayoral seats in the remaining three cities by significant margins, with their candidates receiving over 60 percent of the total vote.
Furthermore, MDP candidates swept the presidencies of the Women’s Development Committees (WDC) across all five of the country’s most populous cities.
While the MDP lost some islands traditionally considered party strongholds, the ruling PNC’s victories were largely confined to smaller islands with lower populations.
