Voter Education in the Maldives

Another branch of our group was brought here to focus on voter education for the upcoming presidential election. One of the things they did was to set up a voter education themed street party at the artificial beach. Since this is one of the places that Maldivians usually spend their free time it seemed like a good idea. However this was not the case. on the afternoon and night of the party there were less people in the venue that usual, and most of them were not Maldivians.

When I talked about the fact that only a small crowd turned out for the street party, my Maldivian friends said they weren't surprised at all, saying something like, "That kind of thing doesn't work here." Maldivians like to blend in with the crowd, and don't want to be seen at a political rally. This mentality has some reason to it. Not far from the beach party and concert, someone was stabbed.

Those who came got free buttons, wristbands and t-shirts, all reminding people of how important it is to choose a candidate and cast their secret vote. Unfortunately, we are hearing that vote-selling is common here.