The Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) has said that the number of void votes in the presidential election was high due to the lack of confidence in the system.

After observing the presidential election, which ended yesterday, the HRCM held a press conference to share its findings. During the press conference, HRCM member Aiminath Shifa'ath noted that there were many void votes in the presidential election this time, which makes it clear that there are many people who do not trust the system.

"There are many reasons for such an increased amount of void votes. For example, people lack confidence in the system," Shifa'ath said.

Noting that three percent of the people cast void votes in the presidential election, Shifa'ath said efforts should be made to solve the problem. As such, it was highlighted that there is no box to tick if a voter does not like any of the candidates.

246,915 people voted in the second round of the presidential election held yesterday. Of these, 7,888 votes were invalid. Two percent of the vote was invalid in the first round.