Eight candidates have successfully submitted candidacy forms to contest the upcoming presidential election.
The Elections Commission opened submissions for those interested in contesting the presidential race on July 23. While the deadline for application expired at 2:00 pm today, eight candidates successfully submitted their bids.
Among them, five have aligned with political parties, while the remaining three have chosen to stand as independent candidates. This is the highest number of candidates to contest a presidential election in the Maldives since the advent of multi-party presidential elections in the Maldives under the current Green Constitution.
Candidates and their chosen running mates are as follows:
Maldivian Democratic Party: President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, with MP Mohamed Aslam as running mate
Peoples' National Congress: Male' Mayor Mohamed Muizzu, with MP Hussain Mohamed Lateef as running mate
Maldives National Party: MP Mohamed Nazim, with Dr. Ahmed Adeel Naseer as running mate
The Democrats: MP Ilyas Labeeb with former STO MD Hussain Amr as running mate
Jumhooree Party: MP Qasim Ibrahim, with Dr. Ameen Ibrahim as running mate
Independent candidate Umar Naseer, with Ahmed Saleem as running mate
Independent candidate Ahmed Faris Maumoon, Dr. Abdul Sattar Yusuf as running mate
Independent candidate Hassan Zameel, with Maryam Aleem as running mate
The candidacies of those running under party banners have been accepted by the Elections Commission. It is anticipated that the independent candidates' applications will receive similar acceptance in due course.
The presidential election is slated for September 9, with a second round of voting scheduled for September 30 if required.
