STORY: Maldivians go to polls in presidential election
DATELINE: Sept. 9, 2023
LENGTH: 0:01:30
LOCATION: Male
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of street views in Male
2. various of polling stations

STORYLINE:

The presidential election in the Maldives was held on Saturday, with over 282,000 eligible voters choosing the Indian Ocean archipelagic country's president with a five-year term.
   
A total of eight candidates contest this year's poll, including incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC) coalition's candidate Mohamed Muizzu, who is also the mayor of the capital city Male.

Over 570 polling stations were set up for the one-day election.
   
According to the constitution of the Maldives, a candidate needs more than 50 percent of votes in the first round to win outright. If no candidate obtains such a majority, the top two candidates will go to a runoff.
   
Local media reports said a runoff election will take place on Sept. 30 if required. 

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Male.
(XHTV)