Former President Nasheed won the MDP's chairperson election in a landslide, taking 21,301 votes (68.9 percent) against young rival Meekail Ahmed Naseem's 9,462 (30.6 percent), according to results from Friday's vote. A third candidate, Ibrahim Mohamed – who had dropped out and endorsed Meekail but stayed on the ballot – drew 132 votes. Some 31,129 votes were cast, of which 234 were invalid. Turnout stood at 62 percent nationwide. Voting proceeded smoothly but was marred on some islands by irregularities. A ballot box in Gaaf Dhaal Fiyoaree was broken into amid voter list disputes and its results later invalidated. Voting in Faafu Feeali was suspended after a ballot box was physically removed from the polling station. Meekail alleged that supporters' names had been removed from voter lists on multiple islands and that his campaign observers were denied accreditation. But after the outcome became clear, Meekail conceded and called Nasheed to congratulate him, noting him he will remain with the party’s membership. Nasheed, celebrating with supporters at Malé's artificial beach, called the win a major victory for democracy and reform, thanking party members and the "Bodu Badhalu" campaign team and congratulating Meekail. He said he had already texted former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and would begin work on Sunday. Former MDP chair Fayyaz Ismail, who was allied with Nasheed, congratulated him on X, saying the vote showed members were ready for the "big change" he and Nasheed had put to them, and that the task now was to unite and defeat the government.
PNC's Suha Ibrahim won the Dhaalu Meedhoo Council presidency on Saturday with 529 votes against MDA's Mohamed Shahid's 449, giving PNC a clean sweep of all council seats in Meedhoo. The re-vote was triggered by a protracted dispute from the April 4 local council elections, where a series of vote recounts and a High Court ruling on invalidated ballots ultimately left the two candidates tied, necessitating a fresh vote. Voter turnout reached 93.9 percent, with 985 of 1,049 eligible voters casting ballots.
President Muizzu congratulated 137 graduates from the 72nd MNDF Basic Training Course, drawn from 70 islands across all 20 atolls, who joined the military as part of the first batch of the government's National Service programme.
The Rasfannu swimming area reopened to the public following renovation works carried out by MTCC, which included installing water circulation pipes and improving the northern drainage system. The beach in Malé's western waterfront had been closed since April for repairs. Renovation work on other parts is still ongoing.
Dr Abdul Samad Memorial Hospital in Thinadhoo City performed its first laparoscopic gynaecological surgery, removing an ovarian cyst and a fallopian tube fibroma during a surgical camp organised jointly with the health ministry. The minimally invasive procedure, which uses small incisions, a camera, and surgical instruments to treat conditions such as endometriosis, ovarian cysts, and fibroids, was led by Dr Ubaid Abdullah with a team of six specialist doctors and marks a significant milestone in the hospital's surgical capabilities.
