| Politics of Maldives | |
| Native Name: | ދިވެހިރާއްޖޭގެ ސިޔާސަތު |
| Native Name Lang: | dv |
| Government: | Unitary presidential constitutional republic |
| Constitution: | Constitution of Maldives |
| Legislature: | People's Majlis |
| Legislature Type: | Unicameral |
| Legislature Place: | 80 Medhuziyaaraiy Magu, Henveiru, Malé 20080 |
| Legislature Speaker: | Mohamed Nasheed |
| Title Hosag: | President |
| Current Hosag: | Mohamed Muizzu |
| Appointer Hosag: | Direct popular vote |
| Cabinet: | Cabinet of the Maldives |
| Cabinet Leader: | President |
| Cabinet Deputyleader: | Vice president |
| Cabinet Appointer: | President |
| Judiciary: | Judiciary in the Maldives |
| Chief Judge: | Ahmed Muthasim Adnan |
The politics of the Maldives take place in the framework of a presidential representative democratic republic, whereby the President is the Head of Government. Executive power is exercised by the government. The President heads the executive branch and appoints the Cabinet; like many presidential democracies, each member of the cabinet need to be approved by the Parliament. The President, along with their pick for vice president, is directly elected by the denizens to a five-year term by a secret ballot. Once in office, they could be re-elected to a second 5-year term, which is the limit allowed by the Constitution. The current President of the Maldives is Mohamed Muizzu, when his predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih lost the 2023 Maldivian presidential election.[1] [2]
The unicameral Majlis of the Maldives is composed of 87 members serving a five-year term. The total number of the members representing each constituency depends on the total population of that constituency. The last parliamentary election was held on 21 April 2024.
The Maldivian legal system is derived mainly from the traditional Islamic law. There is a Supreme Court with 5 judges including the Chief Justice. The Chief Justice is appointed by the President, with the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission. Parliament is required to approve the appointment before he assumes office. Excluding the Supreme Court, there also exists the High Court (two branches), a Criminal Court, Civil Court, Family Court, Juvenile Court, Drug Court and many Lower Courts in each Atoll/Island. An Attorney General is part of the Cabinet and also needs the approval of Parliament before taking office.
Under the new 2008 constitution, the function of Local Government is devolved to an Atoll Council to administer each atoll and an Island Council to administer each inhabited island. Island councilors are elected by the people of each island, and the Atoll Councilors are in turn elected by the Island Councilors.
The Constitution of the Maldives requires the following for a president: be a Maldivian citizen born to parents who are Maldivian citizens, and who is not also a citizen of a foreign country; be a Muslim and a follower of a Sunni school of Islam;[3]
See main article: History of Maldives. A 1968 referendum approved a constitution making Maldives a republic with executive, legislative, and judicial branches of government. The constitution was amended in 1970, 1972, 1975, and 1997 and again in 2008.
Ibrahim Nasir, Prime Minister under the pre-1968 sultanate, became president and held office from 1968 to 1978. He was succeeded by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was elected president in 1978 and re-elected in 1983, 1988, 1993, 1998, and 2003. At the end of his presidency in 2008, he was the longest serving leader in Asia.
Since 2003, following the death in custody of a prisoner, Naseem, the Maldives experienced several anti-government demonstrations calling for political reforms, more freedoms, and an end to torture and oppression. As a result of these activities, political parties were eventually allowed in June 2005. The main parties registered in Maldives are: the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party (DRP), the Islamic Democratic Party (IDP) and the Adhaalath Party. The first party to register was the MDP headed by popular opposition figures such as Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) and Mohamed Latheef (Gogo). The next was the Dhivehi Raiyyithunge Party (DRP) headed by then-President Gayoom. A new Constitution was ratified in August 2008, paving the way for the country's first multi-party presidential election two months later.[4] [5]
The Maldives have scored poorly on some indices of freedom. The "Freedom in the World" index, a measure of political rights and civil liberties published by Freedom House, judged Maldives as "not free" until May 1, 2009, when it was raised to "partly free".[6] [7] The "Worldwide Press Freedom Index", published by Reporters Without Borders, ranks Maldives 100 out of 180 in terms of press freedom as of 2023.[8]
In September 2018, a presidential election was held, during which Ibrahim Mohamed Solih was elected to the post of president, with 58.38% of the public vote. He stood as a member of a joint opposition to Yameen Abdul Gayoom's regime, which had been condemned internationally for shutting down free speech, and violating human rights.[9]
On 30 September 2023, PNC/PPM candidate Mohamed Muizzu won the second-round runoff of the Maldives presidential election, beating incumbent president Ibrahim Solih with 54% of the vote.[10] On 17 October 2023, Mohamed Muizzu was sworn in as the ninth President of the Republic of Maldives.[11]
See main article: Cabinet of the Maldives. The Cabinet of the Maldives presided by the President, contains the Vice President and ministers. there are currently 22 ministers that lead their respective ministries, they are:
The Majlis of the Maldives has 87 members elected by the people under first-past-the-post voting.
On a national level, Maldives elects a head of state the president and a legislature. The president is elected for a five-year term by the people since 2008. Until 2005 (after the election), no legal parties existed. The results of the most recent legislative elections held in 2019 are:
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | +/– | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Maldivian Democratic Party | 96,354 | 45.83 | 65 | +39 | ||
| Jumhooree Party | 23,452 | 11.15 | 5 | –10 | ||
| Progressive Party of Maldives | 19,176 | 9.12 | 5 | –28 | ||
| People's National Congress | 13,931 | 6.63 | 3 | New | ||
| Maldives Development Alliance | 6,636 | 3.16 | 2 | –3 | ||
| Adhaalath Party | 4,423 | 2.10 | 0 | –1 | ||
| Maldives Labour and Social Democratic Party | 314 | 0.15 | 0 | New | ||
| Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party | 373 | 0.18 | 0 | 0 | ||
| Maldives Third Way Democrats | 293 | 0.14 | 0 | New | ||
| Independents | 45,301 | 21.55 | 7 | +2 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 4,800 | – | – | – | ||
| Total | 215,053 | 100 | 87 | +2 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 264,442 | 81.32 | – | – | ||
| Source: Elections Commission of Maldives (8619 of 8631 results sheets verified) | ||||||
There are now 10 registered political parties in the Maldives:
| Party | Registered Date | |
|---|---|---|
| Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) | 26 June 2005 | |
| Adhaalath Party (AP) | 18 August 2005 | |
| Jumhooree Party (JP) | 2 August 2008 | |
| Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) | 27 October 2011 | |
| Maldives Development Alliance (MDA) | 30 December 2012 | |
| Maldives Third Way Democrats (MTD) | 27 December 2018 | |
| People's National Congress (PNC) | 31 January 2019 | |
| Maldives Reform Movement (MRM) | 20 November 2019 | |
| Maldives National Party (MNP) | 25 October 2021 | |
| The Democrats | 12 July 2023 | |
| Source: Elections Commission[13] | ||
In the 2019 parliamentary election, the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won 65 seats in the 87 seat parliament. This was the first time a single party was able to get such a high number of seats in the parliament in Maldivian history.[14]
The legal system is based on Islamic law with admixtures of English common law primarily in commercial matters. Maldives has not accepted compulsory International Court of Justice jurisdiction.
20 atolls (atholhu, singular and plural): Alif Alif, Alif Dhaal, Baa, Dhaalu, Faafu, Gaafu Alifu, Gaafu Dhaalu, Gnaviyani, Haa Alifu, Haa Dhaalu, Laamu, Lhaviyani, Kaafu, Meemu, Noonu, Raa, Seenu, Shaviyani, Thaa, Vaavu, and one first-order administrative city (Malé).
The Maldives is a member of many international organizations, some of which include:
The ADB,[15] Commonwealth of Nations,[16] CP, ESCAP,[17] FAO,[18] G-77,[19] IBRD,[20] ICAO, IDA,[21] IFAD,[22] IFC, International Monetary Fund,[23] IMO,[24] Intelsat (nonsignatory user), Interpol,[25] IOC, IsDB,[26] ITU,[27] NAM,[28] OIC,[29] OPCW,[30] SAARC,[31] UN,[32] UNCTAD,[33] UNESCO,[34] UNIDO,[35] UPU,[36] World Health Organization,[37] WCO,[38] WIPO,[39] WMO,[40] and the WTO.[41]