Polling stations opened in Male' and the atolls at 0800hrs and will close at 1730hrs, as per the decision of the Election Commission of the Maldives (ECM). Voters began queuing up at the polling stations at around 0730hrs and the security envelopes were opened in the presence of the first two voters at the polling stations.
A total of 602 ballot boxes have been set up in the Maldives and three other countries for the parliamentary election. Polling stations are also open in 34 resorts, prisons, and other industrial islands. The countries in which ballot boxes are placed for voting are Trivandrum in India (0830hrs to 1800hrs), Colombo in Sri Lanka (0830hrs to 1800hrs) and Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia (1100hrs to 2030hrs).
Among the first to vote was Muizzu, 45, who cast his ballot at the Tajuddin school in the capital, Male.
Election chief Fuad Thaufeeq urged the 284,663 eligible voters to cast their ballots early. Polling stations across the archipelago will be open for 9½ hours.
Primarily known as one of the most expensive holiday destinations in South Asia, with pristine white beaches and secluded resorts, the atoll nation has also become a geopolitical hotspot in the Indian Ocean.
Global east-west shipping lanes pass the nation's chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands, which stretch around 800 kilometers across the equator.
Muizzu won last September's presidential poll as a proxy for pro-China ex-president Abdulla Yameen, freed last week after a court set aside his 11-year jail term for corruption.
This month, as campaigning for the parliamentary elections was in full swing, Muizzu awarded high-profile infrastructure contracts to Chinese state-owned companies.
His administration is also in the process of sending home a garrison of 89 Indian troops who operate reconnaissance aircraft provided by New Delhi to patrol the Maldives' vast maritime borders.
The current parliament, dominated by the pro-India Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) of Muizzu's immediate predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, has sought to stymie his efforts to realign the archipelago's diplomacy.
"Geopolitics is very much in the background as parties campaign for votes in Sunday's election," a senior aide of Muizzu told AFP, asking not to be named.
"He came to power on a promise to send back Indian troops and he is working on it. The parliament has not been cooperating with him since he came to power."
Since Muizzu came to office, lawmakers have blocked three of his nominees to the Cabinet and refused some of his spending proposals.
Splits in all the main political parties, including Muizzu's People's National Congress (PNC), are expected to make it hard for any single party to win an outright majority.
But Muizzu's prospects received a fillip with the release of his mentor Yameen from house arrest Thursday.
A court in Male ordered a retrial in the graft and money-laundering cases that saw Yameen sent to prison after he lost a reelection bid in 2018.
Yameen had also backed closer alignment with Beijing while in power, but his conviction left him unable to contest last year's presidential poll himself.
ECM has made several arrangements to ensure maximum convenience to all during the election process. As such, each ballot box is open for 500 individuals. Additionally, ECM affirmed that the allocated time for voting will not be extended under any circumstances, hence urging residents to cast their votes promptly.
The eligible voting population for the election is 284،663, including 145،302 male and 139،361 female voters. As such, voting would take place to elect parliamentarians for 93 constituencies.
The current parliamentary term will conclude on May 30, 2025.
