The Elections Commission (EC) has reported that 75 percent of eligible voters cast their ballots in Saturday's presidential election.
The commission's Deputy Chief, Ismail Habeeb, confirmed a voter turnout of 75 percent, which is lower in comparison to the 2018 presidential election's turnout of 89.2 percent.
A total 282,395 eligible voters were set to cast their ballots in the 2023 election; which is 144,199 men and 138,196 women.
This year's election witnessed the largest number of candidates running in the presidential race. A total of eight candidates are competing in the election, with Dr. Mohamed Muizzu, the candidate from the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC) coalition, and Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, the candidate from the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), leading the race.
To secure a first-round victory, candidates need to obtain over 50 percent of the total votes. However, at the moment, it appears that a second round of elections is the likely scenario. Dr. Muizzu has secured 45.64 percent of the votes, while President Solih has secured 40.63 percent of the votes so far.