Voting at MDP Primary halted amid unrest

Voting at the Parliamentary Election Primary of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has been halted after unrest broke out between party members.

The Primary was scheduled to begin at 2:30 p.m., but was delayed due to administrative problems.

MDP Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik said that the delay was caused by ballot box officials arriving late and other administrative issues.

An Election Advisory Committee Official told Sun Online that unrest broke out due to disagreements among party members about the voters’ list.

“Voting was halted after problems were discovered regarding the voters’ list. The list published by the party and the list near the ballot boxes were not the same. They had been changed,” he said.

He said that since the election has been cancelled, the votes that were cast prior would be void.

He further said that the Primary will be held again after discussion with the candidates and solving the voters’ list problems.

The cancellation of the Primary was announced by MDP Chairperson Reeko Moosa Manik, which was followed by several party members called for his resignation.