Money and Elections in the Maldives

The International Foundation for Electoral System’s (IFES) in close cooperation with national experts from Commerce, Development and Environment Consulting, conducted a nation-wide survey to measure the prevalence of vote buying in the Maldives during the March 2014 parliamentary elections.

This is the first systematic study of its kind conducted in the Maldives and it provides statistical data on vote buying, campaign finance and other election-related issues. It reveals that 37% of the voters have personally witnessed attempts at vote buying.  In addition, the Maldivian public is highly cynical of the way in which political parties and candidates spend their campaign funds. At the same time there is very strong public support for campaign finance reforms and, in particular, for combating vote buying. The methodology and sample were designed to be nationally representative with a +/- 3 percent  margin of error.

The report will be shared with the government, the parliament, the Election Commission, civil society, political parties and others.  IFES is currently providing technical support to the Electoral Reform Working Group to formulate amendments to electoral legislation, and remains committed to supporting Maldivian institutions in improving the electoral process.