Presidential elections
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The ...
were held in the
Maldives
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
on 7, 9 and 16 November 2013. The first round was held on 7 September. As no candidate received a majority, a second round was planned to be held in 28 September between the candidates who received the most votes in the first round, former President
Mohamed Nasheed
Mohamed Nasheed (; born 17 May 1967), also known as Anni (), is a Maldivians, Maldivian politician and activist who served as president of the Maldives from 2008 until his resignation in 2012. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Part ...
(who was contesting in the election following his controversial resignation, which he and many claimed was a coup d'état amidst the
2011–12 Maldives political crisis) and
Abdulla Yameen, paternal half-brother of former president
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ( ; born Abdulla Maumoon Khairi; 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Tra ...
. Incumbent President Mohamed Waheed Hassan was eliminated in the first round after receiving fewer votes than three other candidates.
However, on 27 September the
Supreme Court
In most legal jurisdictions, a supreme court, also known as a court of last resort, apex court, high (or final) court of appeal, and court of final appeal, is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
cancelled the run-off and annulled the first round results.
A re-run of the first round was held on 9 November, with a similar result to the annulled vote. A run-off was planned for the following day due to the need to have a new president in place by 11 November. However, it was then postponed until 16 November by the Supreme Court after Yameen claimed he needed more time to campaign. Yameen went on to win the run-off with his share of the vote rising from 30% in the first round to 51% in the second round, whilst Nasheed's share increased by only 2%.
Background
2011–12 political crisis
Political friction in the country escalated in December 2011, when an opposition alliance 'Madhanee Ithihaad' was formed, which included the parties that supported the President
Mohamed Nasheed
Mohamed Nasheed (; born 17 May 1967), also known as Anni (), is a Maldivians, Maldivian politician and activist who served as president of the Maldives from 2008 until his resignation in 2012. A founding member of the Maldivian Democratic Part ...
in his 2008 presidential race. On 23 December, the
capital city
A capital city, or just capital, is the municipality holding primary status in a country, state (polity), state, province, department (administrative division), department, or other administrative division, subnational division, usually as its ...
was rocked by protests by the opposition against the President Mohamed Nasheed. Further events transpired leading to the arrest of
Chief Justice Abdulla Mohamed from his house by the
military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...
. This arrest sparked violent protests near the Republic Square. After the government refused to disclose any information to the public, the protests started gaining momentum. Demands went up for an independent investigation into the Judge and to arrest him according to the constitution and for the president to stop using executive power over another institution. The protest extended for over 22 days in the Republic Square and on 6 February 2012, the
Maldives Police Service declined to use force to control or disperse the protests and joined the protest for the release of Judge Abdulla Mohamed. President Nasheed resigned the following day.
On 8 February 2012, the
Maldivian Democratic Party announced for all its members across the country to go into streets in protests. President Mohamed Nasheed led the protests to
Republic Square, announcing that he was forced to resign at gunpoint, and that the event was a ''coup d'état'' orchestrated by
Vice-President
A vice president or vice-president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vi ...
Mohamed Waheed Hassan, who was sworn in as the new president of Maldives on the same day in accordance with the law of the Maldives.
After Nasheed and his supporters continued to protest Waheed's removal from office, he agreed to call a
snap election
A snap election is an election that is called earlier than the one that has been scheduled. Snap elections in parliamentary systems are often called to resolve a political impasse such as a hung parliament where no single political party has a ma ...
. In April 2012, Waheed set the election for July 2013, stating that no earlier election was constitutionally possible. However Nasheed, strongly opposed this idea instead arguing for a 2012 election to settle the disputed presidency. This date was later then pushed down to September 2013, to when the next presidential election would constitutionally be taking place.
Electoral system
The Maldives has
Presidential system
A presidential, strong-president, or single-executive system (sometimes also congressional system) is a form of government in which a head of government (usually titled " president") heads an executive branch that derives its authority and l ...
of government where the
president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
* President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Arts and entertainment Film and television
*'' Præsident ...
is both head of state and government. Once in office, they could be re-elected to a second 5-year term, which is the limit allowed by the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organization or other type of entity, and commonly determines how that entity is to be governed.
When these pri ...
.
In the Maldives, the president is elected by a majority or more than fifty (50%) percent of the votes cast. When a candidate does not receive a majority of the votes, the election then proceeds to a runoff (or second round), which are mandated to be held no less than 21 days following the election. In a runoff round, the candidates among the two who receives fifty (50%) percent of the valid votes cast, are elected to the office of the president.
The official results of the voting are announced by the Elections Commission and published in the government gazette within seven days of the voting day of the presidential elections.
Candidates
Incumbent President Mohammed Waheed ran as an independent candidate but backed by the
Gaumee Itthihaad (National Unity Party) and the
Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party
The Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (, , DRP) was a political party of the Maldives. On 2 June 2005, the nation's 50-member parliament voted unanimously to allow and operate political parties in Maldives. DRP subsequently submitted its registration on 2 ...
. Former President Mohamed Nasheed was the
Maldivian Democratic Party's candidate.
Qasim Ibrahim
Qasim Ibrahim (born 30 August 1951), also known as Burumaa Qasim, is a Maldives, Maldivian politician, business magnate and Philanthropy, philanthropist. As the chairman and founder of the Villa Group, he is one of the country's wealthiest bus ...
is the candidate of the
Jumhooree Party (JP) and is supported by the
Adhaalath Party
The Adhaalath Party (; , AP) is a political party in the Maldives.
History
The AP was registered as a political party in August 2005, when political parties were allowed to operate for the first time following widespread protests for democracy.
...
(AP) and the
Dhivehi Qaumee Party.
Leader of the
Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), former president
Maumoon Abdul Gayyoom
Maumoon Abdul Gayoom ( ; born Abdulla Maumoon Khairi; 29 December 1937) is a Maldivian politician, statesman, diplomat and scholar who served as the 3rd president of the Maldives from 1978 to 2008. He previously served as the Minister of Tra ...
, declared that he would not participate in any further election on 25 February. PPM held its presidential primary election on 30 March. The candidacy was won by the party's parliamentary group leader, and half-brother of Gayyoom,
Abdulla Yameen with 63% of the vote, beating rival candidate
Umar Naseer. A total of 31,298 PPM members were eligible to vote in the party's presidential primary through one of the 167 ballot boxes placed in 140 islands. In August, new political party
Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) signed a coalition agreement with PPM to provide support in the presidential election.
Results
Following the original first round on 7 September, the Supreme Court annulled the elections and cancelled the planned second round by a vote of four to three. Voting in favour of the annulment, Judge Ahmed Abdulla Didi referenced a confidential police report that claimed that 5,623 ineligible people had voted in the elections including dead people and others under 18.
[ The rechecking of voters' registry was carried out in the presence of the staff of Elections Commission and the Police Service.
]
Re-run
References
External links
Elections Commission of the Maldives
{{Maldivian elections
Maldives
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
Presidential election
A presidential election is the election of any head of state whose official title is President.
Elections by country
Albania
The president of Albania is elected by the Assembly of Albania who are elected by the Albanian public.
Chile
The p ...
Presidential elections in the Maldives
Annulled elections
Maldives
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...
Maldives
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, and historically known as the Maldive Islands, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic country in South Asia located in the Indian Ocean. The Maldives is southwest of Sri Lanka and India, abou ...