AMN / MALE
Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) has got an overwhelming majority in the parliamentary elections held yesterday.
Preliminary results showed that the party led by President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and former President Mohamed Nasheed have won more than 60 seats in the 87 member parliament.
The party had a big celebration in capital which was participated by President and ministers from the ruling coalition. MDP had contested 85 of the 87 seats in Saturday’s election, where around 78 per cent voters exercised their franchise.
This is for the first time when a single party has won the majority on its own in Parliament since multi-party democracy was established in 2008. Among the prominent winners are former President Mohamed Nasheed and Jumhooree Party leader Qasim Ibrahim.
Opposition PPM and PNC led by former President Abdulla Yameen is winning only five seats with several of their prominent candidates and former ministers losing the elections.
During the campaign, MDP leaders had urged voters for parliament majority in order to fulfil the government’s pledges. After the new government under President Solih came to power last November, some crucial government bills had been at a standstill in parliament due to lack of support.
This included the bill to empower the presidential enquiry commissions tasked with investigating major cases of corruption, murders and disappearances.