President urges to prioritize peace, accept election results

President Dr. Mohamed Waheed Hassan Manik has urged all citizens to prioritize national peace and harmony, and accept the election results, as the Maldives goes to polls on 7th September.

President Waheed made the statement in his address to the nation ahead of Saturday’s election, broadcast tonight at 8:30 p.m.

President said that all citizens must prioritize national peace and harmony over other interests and called on all citizens to ensure that even the most feeble individual is able to exercise his right to vote. He also called on everyone to accept the election result.

“This is how it will be in the Maldives. Only one candidate will win. This is what will naturally happen. And so, like all other elections in the past five years, I call upon everyone to accept the election result with according to our mature culture and to rectify our differences by making use of the given opportunities,” the President said.

He said that the Maldivian people alone will decide who will become their leader for the next five years.

“Democracy is the will of the majority. Nonetheless, democracy is not a perfect system. Of all the existing forms of government, democracy is believed to be the best form of government," said the President.

Continuing in this regard, President said the result of a democratic election would be the will of the majority and that attaining new democratic freedoms should not lead to abandoning the good values in Maldivian society.

He added that, having became a democracy much later compared to other democratic countries in the world, the Maldives would have the benefit of learning paths taken by others.

In his speech, President said patriotic duties and adherence to democratic principles must take precedence over everything else and that Maldives must remain as one, as must all Maldivians.