Mahibadhoo Council breaks deadlock on 8th try to elect MDP’s Zaeema as vice president

Zaeema Mohamed, a councilor representing the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), was elected Vice President of the ADh. Mahibadhoo Council on Monday night, bringing an end to a deadlock that required eight rounds of voting among the newly sworn-in council members.

Zaeema secured the position with three votes during a meeting held at 9:00pm last night, while her closest contender, Mohamed Maumoon from People’s National Congress (PNC), received two votes. Notably, Zaeema had contested for the presidency of the council in the local council elections.

The contest for the vice presidency initially involved three candidates: Zaeema, Maumoon, and independent councilor Bunyameen Hassan. In the first round of voting, both Zaeema and Maumoon secured two votes each, while Bunyameen received one vote. The subsequent rounds repeatedly ended in a deadlock between the two leading candidates, compounded by a recurring invalid ballot that prevented a conclusive result.

Speaking with Sun regarding the prolonged deadlock, Bunyameen, who also contested the position as an independent candidate, said he ultimately decided to cast the deciding vote to break the impasse.

 "I decided to cast my vote for Zaima because the process had become excessively drawn out," Bunyameen stated.

Although the five newly elected council members were sworn into office last Sunday, the council’s works had remained suspended due to the inability to elect a Vice President. Under the relevant regulations, the Vice President must be elected during the inaugural sitting following the inauguration of councilors.

Efforts to fill the position included six separate sittings held on the day the councilors were sworn in. Despite another attempt yesterday afternoon, the matter remained unresolved until the successful conclusion of the eighth sitting last night.