The ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) is witnessing an unprecedented turnout in its ongoing primary elections to select candidates for next year’s local council elections, according to PNC Local Council Election Campaign Manager and Inguraidhoo MP Ibrahim Falah.
Speaking to PSM News, Falah described the polling process as smooth and incident free, likening it to a national election in terms of preparation and organisation.
A total of 44 polling stations have been established across the country, with 21,000 eligible voters registered. By 2:00 pm today, over 8,000 votes had already been cast—a figure surpassing party expectations and marking what Falah called the highest turnout in an internal election of a political party to date.
The primary, which opened for candidacy on 1 December, features 298 contenders vying for 84 seats across 42 constituencies. Meanwhile, many other candidates seeking PNC tickets for council and women’s development committee elections have already secured nominations unopposed.