Early results showed that the Maldives' incumbent President Maumood Abdul Gayoom is leading other five candidates in the Indian Ocean archipelago's first-ever multi party presidential elections held on Wednesday.
Figures from the Elections Commission showed that as of 7:30 a.m. (0230 GMT) Gayoom has taken 43.45 percent or 17,804 of the counted votes.
Gayoom, who has been the president since November 1978, ran for the presidency again representing the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (Maldivian People's Party).
He was followed by the Maldivian Democratic Party's (MDP) Mohamed Nasheed, who has got 19.82 percent or 8,119 of the counted votes.
The Jumhooree Party's (Republican Party) Qasim Ibrahim came third with 19.7 percent or 8,071 votes.
Independent candidate Hassan Saeed bagged 14.87 percent or 6,094 votes while the remaining votes were divided between the Islamic Democratic Party's Umar Naseer and the Social Liberal Party's Ibrahim Ismail.
The final result is expected to be announced by the Elections Commission later Thursday.
About 209,000 Maldivians were eligible to vote from 9 a.m. to 9p.m. local time (0400 GMT to 1600 GMT) in the country's 395 polling stations.
More than 1,000 local and foreign observers monitored the voting and counting process. They have estimated the participation rate at about 70 percent.
"The voting was peaceful. The only problem was that some people didn't get registered and they went the police headquarters in Male to demonstrate," said Hugues Carpet Wednesday evening, who observed the voting process in at least five polling stations including some remote islands.
The registration issue was sorted out later Wednesday as the Elections Commission allowed all eligible citizens who have National Identity Cards to vote.
The counting started immediately after the polling stations were closed.
According to the new constitution ratified by Gayoom in August, the president shall be elected directly by the people and over 50 percent of the votes are needed to be elected.
If no candidate obtains such majority, a run-off election must be held within 21 days after the first election. It will be contested by the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the first election.
Most expect no candidate to secure 50 percent of the vote initially, which would prompt a run-off round, the exact date has to be decided by parliament.
With a population of 300,000, the Maldives are a group of 1,192islands scattered across 800 km of the Indian Ocean neighboring India and Sri Lanka.
Supported by tourism, fishing and shipping, the 850 million-U.S.-dollar economy grew by 7.6 percent in 2007 and the Maldivian government expects the economy to grow by 8.3 percent for 2008.
However, the IMF said the economic growth would slow to 6.5 percent in 2008 and its inflation would double to around 15 percent.
Source: Xinhua
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