Second round of voting in council elections to take place on April 18

The second round of voting for ties in the local council elections and women’s development committee elections will take place coming Saturday, according to the Elections Commission (EC).

The two elections, along with a referendum on synchronizing the presidential and parliamentary elections, took place on April 4.

The commission is set to begin announcing final results at 02:30 pm Saturday.

In an address ahead of the announcement of results, EC’s president Mohamed Zahid said the elections were free and fair.

According to Zahid, 215,346 out of 294,576 eligible voters took part in the April 4 elections – marking the highest turnout for a local council and WDC elections.

“The elections that took place on April 4, 2026, were free and fair,” he said.

Zahid said that a second round of voting will take place on April 18 for seats that ended in ties.

“And, the voting for districts going into a second round will take place on Saturday, April 18, 2026. We are making necessary preparations,” he said.

However, he did not specify the electoral seats in question, stating that it would be announced along with the final results.

Zahid said that the National Complaints Bureau received 170 elections-related complaints. He said that the commission is reviewing and responding to these complaints.

He said that complainants who are unhappy with the commission’s response have 14 days to petition the High Court.

Preliminary results show the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) secured a majority of the seats, dealing a heavy blow to the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC). The PNC administration also lost the referendum, with an overwhelming majority of voters voting against the proposal by the administration to synchronize presidential and parliamentary elections.