Male, Oct 2:  Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Mohamed Muizzu, won the Maldivian presidential elections on Saturday, Al Jazeera reported citing local media.

This was the second round of polling after no candidate emerged clear winner in the first round. Muizzu had emerged as the frontrunner in the first round with around 46 per cent votes, followed by Ibrahim Solih’s 39 per cent.

Muizzu has won with more than 53 per cent of the vote, after the tallying of results of all 586 ballot boxes.

After the thumping win, the Maldives president-elect delivered a brief statement at his party’s headquarters, thanking all those who voted for him and calling on the government to release former President Abdulla Yameen, who is serving an 11-year jail sentence on a corruption conviction.