Voters went to the polls in the Maldives on Saturday, with incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih facing a tough election challenge again in the coral atoll of the Indian Ocean country.
Solih is seeking a second term in a referendum that has turned into a referendum on his quest for new ties with India, the archipelagic country’s traditional benefactor.
Solih, 61, and his main rival Mohammed Muizzu, mayor of Male, were among the early voters in the capital island of Male, where schools were turned into polling stations.
Both men ended their campaign with rallies in the capital.
Dressed in a yellow T-shirt and cap, the colors of his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Solih addressed a large gathering.
Muizzu, 45, a representative of jailed opposition leader and former President Abdulla Yameen, attended a mass rally at the end of a brief campaign.