A voter shows her finger dyed with election ink after casting her vote for presidential election at a polling station in Male, Maldives, Sept. 9, 2023. The presidential election in the Maldives kicked off on Saturday, with over 282,000 eligible voters choosing the Indian Ocean archipelagic country's president with a five-year term. (Xinhua/Che Hongliang)
MALE, Sept. 9 (Xinhua) -- The presidential election in the Maldives kicked off on Saturday, with over 282,000 eligible voters choosing the Indian Ocean archipelagic country's president with a five-year term.
A total of eight candidates contest this year's poll, including incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC) coalition's candidate Mohamed Muizzu, who is also the mayor of capital city Male.
Voting started at 8 a.m. and will end at around 4 p.m. local time on Saturday, with over 570 polling stations set up for the election.
According to the constitution of the Maldives, a candidate needs more than 50 percent of votes in the first round to win outright. If no candidate obtains such majority, the top two candidates will go to a runoff.
Local media reports said a runoff election will take place on Sept. 30 if required. ■
Voters line up to cast their votes for presidential election at a polling station in Male, Maldives, Sept. 9, 2023. The presidential election in the Maldives kicked off on Saturday, with over 282,000 eligible voters choosing the Indian Ocean archipelagic country's president with a five-year term. (Xinhua/Che Hongliang)
This photo taken on Sept. 9, 2023 shows a view inside a polling station for presidential election in Male, Maldives. The presidential election in the Maldives kicked off on Saturday, with over 282,000 eligible voters choosing the Indian Ocean archipelagic country's president with a five-year term. (Xinhua/Che Hongliang)
