MDP sweeps the mayoralties; PNC holds council seats by a thread
The opposition takes all five city mayoralties — including Male' — while the ruling party clings to a one-seat edge in the broader council count.
The Maldivian Democratic Party has won mayoralties in all five cities in Saturday's local council elections, the Election Commission confirmed late on Saturday night. Adam Azim was returned in Male'; Ali Nizar took Addu; Saudh Ali won Thinadhoo.
The ruling People's National Congress kept a wafer-thin lead in the overall council-seat count, finishing on 246 to the MDP's 247 across 498 reported seats — a distribution that leaves no clear winner at the island level.
The two results taken together suggest an electorate that has chosen to divide responsibility rather than confer a single mandate.
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