Country Profile:

Maldives

Description of government structure:

  • Chief of State: President Mohamed NASHEED *
  • Head of Government: President Mohamed NASHEED **
  • Assembly: Maldives has a unicameral People's Council (Majlis) with 50 seats.

* The President is first nominated by the People's Council and must secure a 51% approval in a national referendum.

** The President is first nominated by the People's Council and must secure a 51% approval in a national referendum.

Description of electoral system:

  • The President is elected by referendum to serve a 5-year term.
  • President is elected by referendum to serve a 5-year term.
  • In the People's Council (Majlis), 42 members are elected by plurality vote in multi-member constituencies to serve 5-year terms and 8 members are appointed by the president to serve 5-year terms.***

*** 2-seat districts. Each voter casts two votes. Two highest vote-getters win seats in each district.

Population:

  • Population: 396,344 (July 2009 est.)

Past elections

Last Updated on 02/04/2010