The Maldives' electoral commission has warned that the weekend's presidential polls could be scrapped at the last minute as two of the candidates have still to endorse the voting roll.
Just hours before voting was due to open, commission chairman Fuwad Thowfeek said on Friday former president Mohamed Nasheed was the only one of the three candidates who had approved the lists - a legal prerequisite for Saturday's contest to proceed.
"So far, only Nasheed has signed," Thowfeek told reporters in the capital Male. "If the election is not held tomorrow, then the rights of one candidate (Nasheed) will be violated."
While urging the other two candidates - Abdullah Yameen and Qasim Ibrahim - to endorse the list of names, Thowfeek acknowledged the pair could prevent the contest from taking place.
"Tomorrow's election is in their hands," he said.
Nasheed, a pro-democracy campaigner who claims he was ousted in a coup last year, won 45.45 per cent of the votes cast when the Indian Ocean archipelago went to the polls for a first round of voting on September 7.
Yameen, who is the half brother of the islands' long-time ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, garnered 25.35 per cent of the vote and would have faced Nasheed in a run-off against Nasheed last month.
But the Supreme Court subsequently annulled the result, citing irregularities, although international observers said the polls were free and fair.
The decision to order a re-run this Saturday also allowed the third-placed candidate Ibrahim, who had launched the legal challenge, to re-enter the contest.
While there was no immediate comment from Ibrahim's camp on Friday, Yameen's campaign manager Abdulla Ameen told reporters that his team needed time to study the voter lists.
"We also want to hold the elections, but in accordance with the Supreme Court order," Ameen said.
There has been heavy international pressure to ensure that the Maldives chooses a new president by November 11 in line with the fledgling democracy's constitution.
Regional power India rushed foreign secretary Sujatha Singh for talks with political leaders on Thursday to ensure that the elections go ahead.
"I'm not here to tell them what to do," Singh told India's The Hindu newspaper in Male. "I'm here to encourage them to do what they themselves set out to do."
Political tensions have remained high on the honeymoon islands ever since Nasheed was toppled following a mutiny by police in February 2012.
Outgoing president Mohamed Waheed, who has antagonised foreign allies since taking office after Nasheed, has announced he will not run on Saturday and has promised to ensure a smooth transition of power.
He was humiliated at the September 7 poll, winning just over five per cent of the vote.
