In the Maldives, referendum for constitutional amendment on simultaneous elections fails

Voters delivered a resounding mid-term rebuke to President Dr Mohamed Muizzu on Saturday, rejecting the constitutional referendum on concurrent presidential and parliamentary elections by a decisive margin and handing the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party victories in all five city mayoral races. Provisional results on Sunday morning show 68 percent voted no on the referendum. The result kills the eighth amendment to the constitution. The current People's Majlis term will run to its scheduled expiry in May 2029, and presidential and parliamentary elections will continue to be held months apart. The scale of the defeat exceeded expectations after the ruling People's National Congress deployed the full apparatus of state in the campaign – from a one-sided official information paper to a pre-election spending spree of project launches, rent waivers, and new services – and the Supreme Court cleared the way for the vote to proceed. Nearly seven in 10 voters said no in the referendum.
Read the full article here: Maldives Independent