Addu Meedhoo MP Abdul Rahman hit back at criticism regarding the low voter turnout for the referendum held on Saturday, remarking that the results from the Meedhoo constituency would have been the same, even if the turnout had been 100 percent.
Residents of three districts of Addu – Feydhoo, Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo – had voted on Saturday to decide if they want to be governed by separate local councils instead of the Addu City Council.
Feydhoo had noted to stay, while Hulhudhoo and Meedhoo voted to break away from the city council.
However, the referendum had produced a voter turnout of just 47 percent, prompting some to question the legitimacy of the results.
In a post on X on Sunday morning, Abdul Rahman, who had backed forming a separate council, rejected these questions.
He said that the voter turnout had been what he expected.
He also attributed the low turnout to the lack of polling at resorts – where hundreds of Addu residents work, issues with voter re-registration, travel barriers and other such challenges.
Abdul Rahman does not believe a higher turnout would have produced a different outcome.
“I am certain it wouldn’t have made much of a difference even if 100 percent of Addu Meedhoo residents had voted. It would end with a local council,” he said.
Abdul Rahman also mentioned that the 2024 by-election that got Male’ City Mayor Adam Azim elected had produced a lower voter turnout of 31 percent. He said that Azim had gotten elected with the vote of 13 percent of the total eligible voters.
He also mentioned that the Hulhudhoo council member hadn’t been elected in a public vote.
2,347 people from Meedhoo had been eligible to vote in Saturday’s referendum. However, 1, 008 people – or 42 percent of total eligible voters – had joined in the referendum. 847 people voted in favor of forming a separate council, while 144 voted against such a move.