Turnout of over 50% in Maldivian presidential run-off

Over 50 per cent of voters today participated in the second round of the Maldives' controversy-ridden presidential election, in which ousted leader Mohamed Nasheed faced Abdulla Yameen in a run-off amid intense global pressure to end months of political turmoil.
Counting of votes began soon after balloting ended at 4 pm local time. Elections Commission chief Fuwad Thowfeek said official results of the presidential run-off would be announced tomorrow.
Preliminary results, however, will be available before midnight, he said.
Parliament Speaker Abdulla Shahid informed MPs through a letter that a new president and vice president will be sworn in tomorrow at a special session of the House.

There was a large turnout for the balloting, with more than half of the country's 239,000 voters exercising their franchise.
Long queues were seen outside most of Male's polling stations and many voters did not leave even after casting their ballot, media reports said.

Facing heightened global pressure, President Mohammed Waheed, who took office when Nasheed resigned under duress in February 2012, stepped down and left the country before the run-off.
On Wednesday, the Maldives was expelled from the Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group, which is investigating the political chaos after repeated court interventions to prevent the presidential elections.
After two cancelled polls, foreign diplomats increasingly viewed delays as politically motivated and the European Union warned of "appropriate measures" if today's election failed.

Police said voting was smooth barring a few minor incidents. Over 20 people were arrested from polling stations for revealing their ballot slips after voting, a criminal offence under the law.
Fuwad also confirmed that the poll panel had received fewer complaints today, compared to previous elections.