Elections officials have begun closing ballot boxes across the country as voting hours ended at 5:30 pm.
Elections Commission (EC) member Hassan Zakariyya told Adhadhu that voting hours will not be extended and ballot boxes will be closed if there is no one in the queue by 5:30 pm.
Official statistics show that more than 207,693 people cast their ballots as of 5:00 pm. That is 72.96 percent of the eligible voters.
Voting for the 20th People's Majlis was conducted from 8:00 am to 5:30 pm.
In the 2009 elections held after the new Constitution, the turnout was 78 percent. In 2014, the figure was 78 percent and rose to 81 percent in 2019.
MPs will be elected to a total of 93 constituencies in the parliamentary elections, with 368 candidates contesting from parties and as independents.
A total of 602 ballot boxes have been set up for the election with 241 in the Male' area and 34 in resorts. Figures show 284,663 people are eligible to vote.
