Parliamentary Election 2024: Voting begins across Maldives

11:32 -

11:21 -

11:20 - Voters in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, are being issued food vouchers by the High Commission. A journalist from The Edition at the location said that the 'free meal' vouchers were handed out saying everyone will be getting a voucher, regardless of whether they voted or not.

11:15 -

11:15 -

As per Elections Commission, by 10:00 hrs, voter turn out is at 16 percent. This is a total of 47,296 persons, including 17,885 (6.28 percent) women and 29,411 (10.33 percent) men.

11:08 -

11:06

11:00 -

10:56 -

10:45 - Voting has commenced in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia as well.

10:43 - Former President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has voted. After voting, he expressed confidence that his party will win a clear majority. He said that MDP will see success in smaller islands as well as cities.

10:37 -

10:20 -

10:18 -

10:12 - Transparency Maldives has released a press statement regarding their observations surrounding the opening of polls. They state that voting began in a timely manner and is proceeding smoothly.

10:02 - Latest statistics shared by EC show the voter turnout as of 09:00 hrs. A total of 24,703 persons (8.68 percent) have voted so far, 7.803 (2.74 percent) of which is women, and 16,900 (5.94 percent) are men.

09:56 -

09:47 -

09:22 - Elections Commission confirms voting has now commenced in all ballot boxes. A total of 602 ballot boxes are placed in Maldives and abroad.

08:52 - President Dr Muizzu: "Voting is both a right and a responsibility of every citizen. So I call on all citizens to go out and vote early. It is your right and responsibility to go early and vote instead of waiting till it's evening"

08:48 - After voting, President Dr Mohamed Muizzu appealed to the public via media to ensure early voting

08:46 - President Dr Mohamed Muizzu has voted

08:45 - Elections Commission confirms that voting was commenced in over 90 percent of voting centers promptly on time. No major issues were faced in any centers and the commission reports everything is proceeding smoothly.

08:30 - Lots of voters appear to have turned up for early voting in Male' with queues observed at many voting centers in the capital.

As of 08:00 hrs this morning, voting in the 2024 Parliamentary Election has commenced in all islands across the country. Voting will be open until 17:30 hrs.

Voters will only be allowed to take in a blue or black pen into the voting centres, Elections Commission (EC) said. Phones, purses, handbags and other items are not allowed to be carried in.

A total of 368 candidates are contesting in this election in 93 constituencies. 130 of these candidates are contesting as independents.

Parliamentarians elected today will be taking their oath of office in May forming the 20th People's Majlis.

In a press conference held last night, President of the Elections Commission Fuad Thaufeeq appealed to the public to be mindful of the allocated voting hours and to make sure to cast votes within the given timeframe, saying that 'not even an extra minute' will be granted for voting after polling closes at 17:30 hrs.

"Whether it rains, or it gets extremely sunny, there is no way to extend voting hours beyond 5.30 pm," Fuad stated.

He clarified that those who line up in the queues ahead of the 17:30 hrs deadline will be allowed to vote.

The total number of eligible voters for this election is 284,663: including 145,302 men and 139,661 women.