Voters are streaming into polling booths in the Maldives to choose a new president in an election that tests the democratic credentials of the Indian Ocean island state.
The vote could mark the return of Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected leader who came to power in 2008 after 30 years of one-man rule.
He was ousted last year in circumstances his supporters say amounted to a coup.
The polls are the Maldives' third attempt to elect a new leader in as many months.
A 7 September vote was annulled based on a secret police report which found vote rigging while an October poll was halted by police after a Supreme Court ruling.
The delay has drawn criticism from international observers, including the United States.
There are fears the result could be annulled again through possible interference either from politicians or the police.
The Election Commission is expected to announce the results at some point this evening, and a run-off will be held on Sunday if there is no clear winner.
Flanked by eight bodyguards and a mob of reporters, Mr Nasheed voted ata polling station at a school in central Male.
"I'm confident of a win," he said.
His main challenger is Abdulla Yameen, a half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the man who ruled the Maldives for three decades from 1978 and was accused by opponents and international rights groups of being a dictator.
Besides Mr Nasheed and Mr Yameen, the other main contender is resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim, a finance minister under Mr Gayoom.
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