The votes tallied so far in the Saturday referendum concerning the ratification of the government-supported constitutional amendment to unify the two major elections in the Maldives indicate that most voters opposed the change.

On Saturday, Maldivians participated in the local council elections, the women’s development committee (WDC) elections, and a referendum concerning the unification of presidential and parliamentary elections.

Results from 9,729 ballots gathered by Sun indicate that 69.3 percent opposed merging the elections, whereas 30.7 percent were in favor of the proposal.

On February 10, the governing People's National Congress (PNC) utilized its supermajority in Parliament to approve constitutional amendments suggested by the government for conducting future presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day.

These constitutional amendments suggest combining the two elections and moving the beginning of the parliamentary term from May to December 1 to achieve this.

This modification will reduce the five-year duration of the existing parliamentary assembly, which was sworn in on May 28, 2024, by approximately six months.

On February 16, President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu announced that a public referendum on this issue – mandated by law for such situations – would take place on Saturday – coinciding with the local council elections.

The ruling PNC, together with the Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) and the Jumhooree Party (JP), have shown support for conducting both elections simultaneously, whereas the opposition MDP and former president Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom continue to oppose the amendment.

Voting commenced at 8:00am on Saturday, and polling locations ceased allowing voters into the line at 5:00pm. The counting of votes is currently underway.

The government experienced not only defeat in the referendum but also in the Local Council Election, where the MDP is ahead in the mayoral competition in five cities.