Electoral system for the president

Maldives, Constitution, accessed 5 August 2024

Article 108: The President shall be elected directly by the people by universal and secret suffrage.

Article 111: (a) The President shall be elected by over fifty percent of the votes. If no candidate obtains such majority, a run-off election must be held within twenty one days after the first election. The run-off election shall be contested only by the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the first election. If the two candidates receiving the highest number of votes in the first election have an equal number of votes, only those two candidates shall compete in the run-off election. If there are two candidates in second position with an equal number of votes, then the run-off election shall be held among the top three candidates.

(b) If any of the two candidates withdraws from the run-off election, the candidate receiving the third highest number of votes in the first election may stand for election in the run-off election.