Dr Hassan Hameed says holding presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day benefits political leaders, not the public

Former Maldives National University Vice‑Chancellor Dr Hassan Hameed says holding the presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day is not the most beneficial option for the country, arguing that such a move would primarily advantage political leaders and heavy campaign spenders.

Writing on his personal blog, Dr Hassan said those who advocate for combining the two major elections often cite cost‑saving as the only benefit. He argued that this alone does not justify changing the electoral cycle.

Dr Hassan said synchronising the elections would benefit certain groups, noting that candidates for both the presidency and parliament spend heavily on campaigning, including on vote‑buying practices that have become common during election periods.

“As it stands, in five years the public has to spend money to get votes twice. With this change, voters will have to spend money only once,” he wrote, pointing out that the financial burden on voters is often overlooked.

He acknowledged that holding both elections on the same day would give the President and MPs more uninterrupted time to carry out their duties and would be administratively easier for the government. However, he argued that these advantages serve the political class more than the public.

“For politicians and spending experts, fewer elections are not beneficial,” he said.

Dr Hassan illustrated his point with an analogy: if drinking one cup of water a day is healthy, reducing it to once every 20 days would clearly be harmful. Likewise, he said, reducing the frequency of elections weakens democracy.

He noted that many countries hold elections more frequently — for example, the US presidential election every four years and House elections every two years — and said this increases accountability.

From this perspective, Dr Hassan argued that more elections strengthen democratic character, because they increase public participation and reduce the distance between elected officials and the people.

He added that global trends show a rise in elections and referendums, which expand opportunities for citizens to influence governance.

Dr Hassan also highlighted that once elected, MPs cannot be held directly accountable until the next election. With two elections in five years, both MPs and the President must face the public indirectly twice, which he said is an important democratic safeguard.

He further noted that presidential and parliamentary elections use different criteria: a president must secure over 50 percent of the vote, while an MP only needs a plurality. He pointed out that one MP in the current Parliament was elected with just 15 percent of the vote.

“Given these differences, it would not be desirable to combine the two elections, as the messages used in campaigns and the criteria for selecting candidates are different,” he said.