The People's National Congress (PNC) has secured a decisive victory in today's local council by-elections, winning 33 out of 37 contested seats across the Maldives. 

The by-elections, which commenced at 8:00 a.m. today were held across 12 constituencies, including council by-elections in two islands and Women's Development Committee (WDC) by-elections in 10 islands. This electoral exercise marks the first round of by-elections, following recent amendments to legislation that mandate biannual by-elections for councils and WDCs.

Initially, elections were scheduled for local bodies in five islands and WDCs in 28 islands. However, 21 constituencies saw unopposed victories due to single-candidate contests, contributing to PNC's significant unopposed wins.

Key contests included council member elections in HDh. Makunudhoo and a women's reserved seat in N. Landhoo, alongside WDC elections across various islands including HDh. Hirimaradhoo, N. Miladhoo, and L. Gan. For residents of Malé islands, four polling booths were established at Maafannu Madharusa.

In N. Landhoo, PNC candidate secured the women's reserved council seat, winning with 241 votes against MDP candidate's 214 votes.

The PNC's victory encompassed one Atoll Council President position, one Island Council President position, two Island Council member seats, and 29 WDC seats. Voting concluded at 16:00 hrs, with ballot counting scheduled to begin 30 minutes after box closure. 

President Dr Mohamed Muizzu posted on his official X account that the party claimed 24 seats unopposed and won an additional 9 seats through contested elections. In his statement, he expressed gratitude to Allah for this success and congratulated the winning candidates, while also thanking campaign workers and voters for their participation in the democratic process.

Overall, PNC secured 24 seats without contests and won 9 out of the 12 contested seats, bringing their total victory to 35 seats. In contrast, the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) won two seats, while independent candidates claimed the remaining two seats.