AFP - The Maldives' first-ever democratic presidential election will be decided in a run-off on October 29, after the first round failed to deliver a clear winner, officials said.

AP - Maumoon Abdul Gayoom celebrated his top showing Thursday in the Maldives' first democratic election, but the nation's longtime ruler failed to win a majority and will now face his chief nemesis in a runoff.

AFP - The first-ever democratic presidential battle in the Maldives is to go into a second round after Asia's longest-serving leader failed to deliver a knock-out blow to his rivals, officials said Thursday.

AFP - The first-ever democratic presidential election in the Maldives looked set to go into a second round after Asia's longest-serving leader apparently failed to deliver a knock-out blow to his rivals.

AFP - The veteran leader of the Maldives has taken the lead in the islands' first democratic election but is short of the majority needed to avoid a tough run-off, preliminary results showed Thursday.

Thousands of Maldivian islanders braved long lines, pouring rain and glitches in the voting rolls Wednesday to cast ballots in the first democratic presidential election in their tiny nation's history.

AP - Thousands of voters waited in snaking lines in the pouring rain Wednesday to vote in the Maldives' first democratic presidential election, even as opposition officials complained of widespread voting irregularities.