Former president Mohamed Nasheed has taken an early lead in the Maldives elections, according to provisional results on Saturday, poll officials said according to dpa. Nasheed, the leader of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP),secured 46.58 per cent of votes, ahead of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yameen who had 29.98 per cent of votes. Jumhoory Party (JP) candidate Gasim Ibrahim has received 23.43 percent of votes. The votes were still being counted and an election official said they were yet to receive the results from overseas voting. If no candidate gets 50 per cent of the vote, a run-off poll is due to be held on Sunday.