President tells Rasdhoo supporters that inadequate campaign work cost PNC the vote on merging major elections

President Dr. Mohamed Muizzu said on Saturday evening that the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) failed to secure public support in the referendum to merge the two main elections because of shortcomings within the party’s own campaign teams.

Speaking at a ceremony in A.A. Rasdhoo to celebrate PNC’s victory in the local council elections in Rasdhoo, Thoddoo and Ukulhas, the President said one key reason voters rejected holding the two major elections on the same day was the lack of adequate campaign work by the party.

“It is such a clear issue, but we have not informed the people well enough,” he said.

The President said that on the final day of campaigning before the local council elections, he had attempted to briefly explain what he described as the “benefits” of holding the two main elections together. He urged supporters to revisit that speech to understand why the proposal had been important.

However, the President said the law would not be changed based on the outcome of the referendum. He urged PNC teams to work together as a single unit when seeking the people’s votes.

“During that vote, the opposition spread all kinds of false rumours, and all kinds of falsehoods were disseminated. They reached the people and created confusion, and we were not able to respond to it,” he said.

According to the official results of the referendum, 148,859 of the 221,111 people voted against holding the two main elections on the same day, 68.7 percent. A total of 67,680 people voted for the proposal.