2028 Maldivian presidential election

The president is elected using the two-round system; if no candidate receives a majority of the vote in the first round, a second round is held with just the top two candidates.^[2]

In November 2024, Muizzu announced plans to hold a referendum on replacing the two-round system with instant runoff voting, allowing the elections to be held in a single round of voting.^[2] He also proposed holding the presidential and parliamentary elections on the same day.^[2] A campaign was launched by government officials and supporters to propose preferential voting.^[3] Opposition parties allege it as a plot to meddle with the election boxes and to rig the votes.^[4]

In November 2024, Abdul Raheem Abdulla, chairman of the People's National Congress (PNC), stated that Muizzu would be automatically selected as the party's nominee for the 2028 elections rather than holding party primaries to determine the candidate.^[5]

Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) chair Fayyaz Ismail stated that he would enter the contest to be the party's nominee, Abdulla Shahid, the president of the party said that he'd also compete.^[5][6] Former president Abdulla Yameen, leader of the People's National Front (PNF) has also stated he would run for the presidency,^[7] while former president Mohamed Nasheed, member of The Democrats, stated that he was intending to run for president although it's unclear whether he would run as the nominee for MDP or The Democrats.^[8] Nasheed later joined the MDP in June 2025.^[9]