Maldives polls: Turnout picks up as over quarter of voters
EC said 24.92 percent had voted by 11am.
Summary
EC said 24.92 percent had voted by 11am.
After a slow start turnout in the ongoing parliamentary elections picked up with over a quarter of the voters cast their ballot, according to Elections Commission figures.
Over 284,000 people are eligible to vote in the parliamentary elections with a total 368 candidates vying for 93 constituents.
EC said 24.92 percent had voted by 11am.
Voting began in 578 of the 602 ballot boxes had begun on time at 8 am, while the remaining ballot boxes opened an hour later.
Incumbent president Dr. Mohamed Muizzu along with his predecessors Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Mohamed Nasheed after casting their ballots had urged the people to vote early.
Polling has been going on smoothly so far without much incident, EC has said.
Transparency Maldives which has deployed 270 observers across polling stations had reported good administrative preparations and smooth polling.
However, the NGO had expressed concern over four percent of the polling stations with compromised secrecy of the ballot due to the station layout.
