MALE, Maldives, Oct. 7 (UPI) -- The Maldives Supreme Court has annulled the results of the country's first round of presidential elections, officials said Monday.
A senior government official told the Hindu a rerun of the first-round polls will be held Oct. 20.
The midnight ruling annulled the results of the Sept. 7 elections that put Maldivian Democratic Party candidate Mohamed Nasheed in first place with more than 45 percent of the popular vote. Progressive Party of Maldives candidate Abdulla Yaameen came in a distant second with 24 percent.
Qasim Ibrahim of the Jumhooree Party, who came in third, asked the court to annul the results of the election, alleging voter fraud.
The Republic of the Maldives is a chain of low-lying islands in the Indian Ocean with a population of about 330,000.
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