Politics of the Maldives

The unicameral Majlis of the Maldives is composed of 87 members serving a five-year term. The total number of the members representing each constituency depends on the total population of that constituency. The last parliamentary election was held on 21 April 2024.

The Maldivian legal system is derived mainly from the

Under the new 2008 constitution, the function of Local Government is devolved to an Atoll Council to administer each atoll and an Island Council to administer each inhabited island. Island councilors are elected by the people of each island, and the Atoll Councilors are in turn elected by the Island Councilors.

The Constitution of the Maldives requires the following for a president: be a Maldivian citizen born to parents who are Maldivian citizens, and who is not also a citizen of a foreign country; be a Muslim and a follower of a Sunni school of Islam;^[3]

History

A 1968 referendum approved a constitution making Maldives a republic with executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The constitution was amended in 1970, 1972, 1975, and 1997 and again in 2008.

A new Constitution was ratified in August 2008, paving the way for the country's first multi-party presidential election two months later.^[4][5]

The Maldives have scored poorly on some

In September 2018, a presidential election was held, during which Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was elected to the post of president, with 58.38% of the public vote. He stood as a member of a joint opposition to Yameen Abdul Gayoom's regime, which had been condemned internationally for shutting down free speech, and violating human rights.^[9]

On 30 September 2023, PNC/PPM candidate Mohamed Muizzu won the second-round runoff of the Maldives presidential election, beating incumbent president Ibrahim Solih with 54% of the vote.^[10] On 17 October 2023, Mohamed Muizzu was sworn in as the ninth President of the Republic of Maldives.^[11]

Executive branch

The Cabinet of the Maldives presided by the President, contains the Vice President and ministers. there are currently 22 ministers that lead their respective ministries, they are:

• Minister of Defense^[12]
• Minister of Foreign Affairs^[12]
• Minister of Homeland Security and Technology^[12]
• Minister of Finance^[12]
• Minister of Education^[12]
• Minister of Health^[12]
• Minister of Economic Development and Trade^[12]
• Minister of Fisheries and Ocean Resources^[12]
• Attorney General^[12]
• Minister of Islamic Affairs^[12]
• Minister of Tourism^[12]
• Minister of Social and Family Development^[12]
• Minister of Sports, Fitness and Recreation^[12]
• Minister of Climate Change, Environment and Energy^[12]
• Minister of Housing, Land and Urban Development^[12]
• Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation^[12]
• Minister of Dhivehi Language, Culture and Heritage^[12]
• Minister of Higher Education, Labour and Skills Development^[12]
• Minister of Construction and Infrastructure^[12]
• Minister of Agriculture and Animal Welfare^[12]
• Minister of Youth Empowerment, Information and Arts^[12]
• Minister of Cities, Local Government and Public Works^[12]

Legislative branch

The Majlis of the Maldives has 87 members elected by the people under first-past-the-post voting.

Political parties and elections

On a national level, Maldives elects a head of state – the president – and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people since 2008. Until 2005 (after the election), no legal parties existed. The results of the most recent legislative elections held in 2019 are:

Party		Votes	%	Seats	+/–
	Maldivian Democratic Party	96,354	45.83	65	+39
	Jumhooree Party	23,452	11.15	5	–10
	Progressive Party of Maldives	19,176	9.12	5	–28
	People's National Congress	13,931	6.63	3	New
	Maldives Development Alliance	6,636	3.16	2	–3
	Adhaalath Party	4,423	2.10	0	–1
	Maldives Labour and Social Democratic Party	314	0.15	0	New
	Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party	373	0.18	0	0
	Maldives Third Way Democrats	293	0.14	0	New
	Independents	45,301	21.55	7	+2
Invalid/blank votes		4,800	–	–	–
Total		215,053	100	87	+2
Registered voters/turnout		264,442	81.32	–	–
Source: Elections Commission of Maldives (8619 of 8631 results sheets verified)

The Maldivian parliament voted unanimously for the creation of a multiparty system on June 2, 2005. Prior to June 2005, the Maldivian political system was based on the election of individuals, rather than the more common system of election according to party platform. In June 2005, as part of an ongoing programme of democratic reform, new regulations were promulgated to formally recognized political parties within the framework of the electoral system. The Maldivian Democratic Party was already active. New parties created within a few years after this included those such as the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party, the Jumhooree Party, and the Adhaalath Party.

There are now 10 registered political parties in the Maldives:

On October 8, 2008, the country held its

In the 2019 parliamentary election, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won 65 seats in the 87 seat parliament. This was the first time a single party was able to get such a high number of seats in the parliament in Maldivian history.^[14]

Judicial branch

The legal system is based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters. Maldives has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction.

Administrative divisions

20 atolls (atholhu, singular and plural):

The ADB,^[15] Commonwealth of Nations,^[16] CP^{[clarification needed]}, ESCAP,^[17] FAO,^[18] G-77,^[19] IBRD,^[20] ICAO, IDA,^[21] IFAD,^[22] IFC, International Monetary Fund,^[23] IMO,^[24] Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,^[25] IOC, IsDB,^[26] ITU,^[27] NAM,^[28] OIC,^[29] OPCW,^[30] SAARC,^[31] UN,^[32] UNCTAD,^[33] UNESCO,^[34] UNIDO,^[35] UPU,^[36] World Health Organization,^[37] WCO,^[38] WIPO,^[39] WMO,^[40] and the WTO.^[41]

Governmental agencies

• Ministry of Islamic Affairs

See also

• Ilyas Hussain Ibrahim
• Zahiya Zareer

References