Earlier, the first round was scheduled to be held Nov 9 with the second round run-off tabled for Nov 16, if required.
However, if a new president does not take charge by Nov 11 as specified in the Maldives constitution, there will be a constitutional void and the speaker of parliament will have to take over and oversee a transition of power.
This is the third attempt to hold the presidential election in the Maldives. The first round held Sep 7 was annulled by the Supreme Court, after Gasim alleged large-scale vote rigging despite international monitors saying the poll was fair. Yameen also supported Gasim in the allegations.
A second round that was to be held Oct 19 was stopped just hours ahead of the voting by police who refused to assist the Elections Commission in distributing ballot papers and boxes to some 200 islands.
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