Muizzu wins presidential election in Maldives

Mohamed Muizzu, candidate of the coalition of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) and People's National Congress (PNC), emerged as the winner in the runoff presidential election in the Maldives on Saturday, according to preliminary results compiled by local media, reported Xinhua.

The runoff election featured a head-to-head contest between incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih and Muizzu, who is also the mayor of capital city Male.

Muizzu took the lead during the vote-counting process and won over 50 percent of the votes in the end, according to preliminary results.

Based on the preliminary results, Muizzu will serve as the Indian Ocean archipelagic country's new president with a five-year term.

No candidate won more than 50 percent of votes in the first round of the presidential election on Sept. 9, during which Muizzu secured more than 46 percent of the votes, and Solih followed behind with 39 percent.