With less than 30 minutes left until voting closes, Elections Commission of Maldives (ECM) has decided to extend the time by two hours.

While voting will now close at 6pm in the Maldives, the Commission decided to increase the voting times abroad as well. The latest polling station to close will be the one in the United Kingdom, which will now close at 11:30pm (Maldives time).

Member Ismail Habeeb said that the time was extended over the current weather across the country.

Noting that the whole country has been experiencing blistering hot weather conditions, Habeeb noted that this could lead to a decrease in voter turnout.

Voting began at 8am in Maldives, with 264,442 eligible voters. Over 140,900 have voted thus far.