Nasheed tops Maldives poll but faces run-off

Opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed topped Saturday's bitterly-contested presidential elections, but failed to secure an outright majority to avoid a run-off, official results showed. Nasheed received 45.08 percent of the popular vote and is set for a run-off with Abdulla Yameen, the half brother of former autocrat, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who garnered 31.21 percent of the vote. The official count showed that a further 3.4 percent of the vote was yet to be declared, but even if all of it went to Nasheed he was still short of the 50 percent needed to win outright to avoid a run-off scheduled for Sunday.