| Parliament name (generic / translated) |
Majlis / People's Majlis |
| Structure of parliament |
Unicameral |
| BACKGROUND |
| Dates of election / renewal (from/to) |
9 May 2009 |
| Purpose of elections |
Elections were held for all seats in the People's Majlis. |
The 2009 elections were the first multi-party elections in the country. They were also the first to be held under the new President, Mohamed Nasheed, whose election in October 2008 put an end to President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's 30 years in power. At stake were 77 seats in the new People's Majlis, all directly elected; the previous 50-member People's Majlis had included eight presidential appointees.
The previous parliamentary elections were originally called for December 2004, when political parties were still banned in the country. They were postponed to 22 January 2005 after the tsunami of December 2004. Although the outgoing legislature unanimously adopted a resolution on 2 January 2005 allowing political parties to seek recognition and contest elections, the multi-party rule was not applied to the 2005 elections. Candidates' political beliefs were nevertheless widely known. The opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP), operating in exile from Sri Lanka, claimed it had won 18 of the 42 directly elected seats. The government insisted that only eight seats had gone to pro-MDP members and that the governmental camp had won at least 30 seats.
Prior to the 2005 elections, in October 2004, the People's Special Majlis (Constituent Assembly) was established to write a new constitution by November 2007. After those elections, then President Gayoom reiterated his plans to introduce democracy within one year by establishing the office of prime minister, a supreme court and a directly elected president. In March 2006, he launched a "Roadmap for the Reform Agenda" to implement these reforms.
Twelve political parties had been established since 2005. They included the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) of then President Gayoom, the People's Alliance (PA) led by his half-brother, Mr. Abdullah Yamin, and the MDP.
In July 2007, President Gayoom called the first-ever referendum for August to decide on the country's future political system. His DRP campaigned for a presidential system, while the MDP favoured a parliamentary system. In the end, voters opted for the presidential system.
In June 2008, the People's Special Majlis adopted a new constitution introducing a two-term limit for the president. It decided not apply the limit to President Gayoom, however, arguing that the country was to have a totally new constitution and that the presidential terms served under the previous constitutions should not be counted.
In August 2008, President Gayoom ratified the new Constitution, paving the way for the country's first multi-party presidential elections. In the run-offs held in late October, he was defeated by Mr. Nasheed (MDP), who was supported by other opposition parties. Mr. Nasheed had been jailed 13 times for anti-government activities and had lived in exile in Britain and Sri Lanka.
Under the new Constitution, parliamentary elections were due before 15 February 2009. They were postponed, however, because of difficulties in passing electoral bills to determine the statutory number of members of the new legislature and constituencies. After much heated debate, the People's Majlis finally enacted the Parliamentary Constituencies Bill and the Parliamentary Election Bill on 10 February. They were ratified the following day by President Nasheed, paving the way for elections to the new 77-member People's Majlis. The Election Commission subsequently set the election day for 9 May.
A total of 465 candidates - 211 from 11 political parties and 254 independents - were vying for seats in the People's Majlis. The 2009 elections saw a duel between the MDP and the DRP. The latter formed an electoral alliance with the PA.
President Nasheed urged citizens to vote for the MDP and enable his government to fulfill its five pledges: to provide affordable housing and transportation, lower the cost of living, ensure health care and tackle the drug problem. He promised to seek foreign investments of at least US$ 500 million to finance the pledges. The MDP called on voters not to support DRP candidates, alleging that they were corrupt.
DRP leader Gayoom called on voters to support the party for the sake of the country and religion. He argued that the DRP would win the most seats in the new legislature since 40 per cent of citizens had voted for him in the first round of the 2008 presidential elections. PA leader Yamin urged voters to support the DRP and the PA on the grounds that the DRP was the only party which had ever worked for the benefit of the public. Both parties pledged to hold the MDP government accountable.
Mr. Yamin blamed the government for its economic policy and the budget deficit. President Nasheed rebutted that his government had inherited a massive budget deficit from the Gayoom administration. He nevertheless admitted that the country's economy had deteriorated in the wake of the global economic crisis and pledged to find solutions for its economic and fiscal woes.
The other parties in the race argued that an MDP majority in parliament would confer undue power on one party, which, they said, would be a setback for the Maldives' young multi-party democracy.
78.87 per cent of the 209,000 registered voters turned out at the polls.
The voting took place in relative peace, although sporadic confrontations and clashes were reported between voter groups. Polling was initially scheduled to end at 8 p.m. but was extended to 1 a.m. in several polling stations which had opened late because of various problems.
Logistical problems delayed the announcement of the election results. Some 500 protesters demonstrated in front of the Election Commission, arguing that it was trying to alter the results. The Commission denied the allegation.
The Commonwealth Observers said that the elections were "well-conducted".
The final results gave the DRP and the PA 28 and seven seats respectively, three short of a parliamentary majority. The MDP became the second largest party, winning 26 seats. The Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and the Republican Party (RP) took two seats and one seat respectively. The remaining 13 seats went to independent candidates.
The newly elected People's Majlis held its first session on 28 May and elected Mr. Abdulla Shahid (DRP) as its new Speaker. |
| STATISTICS |
| Voter turnout |
| Round no 1 | 9 May 2009 |
Number of registered electors
Voters
Blank or invalid ballot papers
Valid votes |
209'197
164'996 (78.87%)
1'772
163'224 |
|
Notes
|
|
| Distribution of seats |
|
Round no 1
|
| Political Group |
Total
|
|
|
|
|
| Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) |
28
|
|
|
|
|
| Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) |
26
|
|
|
|
|
| Independents |
13
|
|
|
|
|
| People's Alliance (PA) |
7
|
|
|
|
|
| Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) |
2
|
|
|
|
|
| Republican Party ('Jumhoory', RP) |
1
|
|
|
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to sex |
Men
Women
Percent of women |
72
5
6.49%
|
| Distribution of seats according to age |
|
|
|
| Distribution of seats according to profession |
|
|
| Comments |
Sources:
- People's Majlis (01.06.2009, 19.07.2009, 01.01.2014)
- http://115.84.158.36/
|
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Compare data for parliamentary chambers in the Last elections module
