While Maldivians head to polls on Sunday, some individuals began queuing up outside polling stations on Friday.

Photos circulating on social media shows some individuals queued up outside polling stations in Makunudhoo island of Haa Dhaalu atoll and Kudahuvadhoo island of Dhaalu atoll.

In previous years, people have been seen queuing up the night before the election but this is the first time that queues were formed this early.

According to the Elections Commission (EC), there are 262,135 eligible voters for the 2018 presidential election. 472 ballot boxes are to be kept across the country and abroad; two in Sri Lanka and one each in India, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.

Two people are competing in the high-stakes election, incumbent President Abdulla Yameen and the Joint Opposition’s candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Sunday’s election will see a total of 10,506 monitors including 34 international observers.

While the Commission has issued a list of names of foreign journalists approved to cover the election, a number of them have since come forwards with visa issues.