Former President Mohamed Nasheed has criticized the leadership of the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) for refusing to concede defeat following yesterday’s by-election for the Hithadhoo North constituency of the People’s Majlis.
The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate, Abdulla Sodiq (Sobe), secured the seat with a 62-vote margin. Sodiq received 1,375 votes, while the PNC candidate, Ahmed Saeed (Soda), garnered 1,313 votes.
Despite the loss, the PNC leadership has characterized the result as a success for the party and a failure for the opposition MDP. Only a few within the PNC have extended congratulations to the winning candidate.
In a post on X today, Nasheed described the PNC members making such claims as people who "refuse to admit defeat verbally."
"Sometimes in a fight, even when the stronger person lands a blow, the one who won't admit defeat says, 'Go on, hit me again.' Finally, when they take a heavy blow and fall, they say, 'Oh, that barely touched me.' The Hithadhoo North seat was held by the PNC with a large majority. The MDP has now taken that seat. Dr. Muizzu has been defeated," Nasheed said.
In the 2024 parliamentary elections, the Hithadhoo North seat was won by PNC's Mohamed Sinan with 1,079 votes. His closest rival was the Speaker of the 19th Parliament, Mohamed Aslam, who contested on the MDP ticket and received 838 votes.
Among those refusing to acknowledge yesterday's defeat is the PNC Parliamentary Group Leader, Ibrahim Falah.
In a post on X, Falah did not concede the loss nor did he congratulate the winner, Sodiq.
Instead, Falah framed the results from some ballot boxes where Saeed led as a major victory. He claimed that the residents of Addu had "shamefully defeated Sodiq" at those polling stations.
Falah further asserted that despite losing three consecutive votes while in power, the love for President Mohamed Muizzu in Addu was evident in yesterday’s results.
"The fact that the PNC candidate led in four out of the seven ballot boxes shows the level of PNC’s popularity among the people of Addu. It demonstrates the trust and love they have for President Muizzu," Falah said.
Following the election, PNC Senior Deputy Parliamentary Group Leader Ibrahim Shujau also posted a lengthy message on X, similarly refusing to concede.
"Look at the result achieved by three former presidents combined in this by-election versus the result achieved by President Dr. Muizzu alone. Look closely! The difference was only 62 votes. President Muizzu achieved this result without looting the state as was done during MDP’s administration in by-elections," Shujau said.
In addition to the party leadership, the defeated candidate, Saeed, issued a statement. While he acknowledged that he "did not reach the goal of victory," he also refrained from congratulating his opponent.
"Even though I did not achieve victory in this election, every vote you cast is a great encouragement to my work," Saeed’s statement read.
While PNC leaders continue to speak in a manner that contradicts democratic norms, Muizzu has yet to comment on the election results. He did not travel to Addu to campaign for this by-election.
