Successful re-election bid demonstrates love and trust of the people, says Mayor Azim

Male’ City Mayor Adam Azim, who secured a second term in office with the local council elections held Saturday, says that his successful re-election bid demonstrates the love and trust of his constituents.

Preliminary results show that Azim, a candidate from the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), won 13,777 votes. His closest rival, Moosa Ali Jaleel from the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC), trails behind with 9,246 votes.

Azim had entered the mayoral race after a tightly contested primary by the MDP. Ali Azim, who ran against him in the primary, had been backed by top figures within the party. This included former president Mohamed Nasheed, and the party’s former chairpersons Mariya Ahmed Didi and Fayyaz Ismail.

Azim’s supporters allege that some of the top figures within the MDP failed to provide him with proper backing, even after he won the primary. Some of these figures allegedly hesitated to publicly endorse Azim, despite posting video messages publicly backing candidates who ran for other seats in the city council.

However, other top figures within the party, including former president Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, party’s president Abdulla Shahid, and former vice president had joined Azim in conducting door-to-door campaigns.

Azim believes his successful re-election bid goes beyond a mere election victory, but also serves as a prime example of the results of working in line with the will of ordinary citizens.

Preliminary results show that in addition to defending the mayoral seat, the MDP is also on track to securing a majority in the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC)-controlled Male’ City Council, taking all council seats except for one, as well as all but one seat at the Women’s Development Committee, including the seat of the president.