Maldives ruler falls to opposition

MALE (Reuters) - The president of the Maldives for the past 30 years conceded electoral defeat on Wednesday to a former dissident he had repeatedly jailed during years of crusading for democracy on the tropical Indian Ocean archipelago.

Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed, victorious with 54.2 percent of a runoff vote held on Tuesday, stood with President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the office he inherits on November 11, with both praising the Maldives' first multiparty poll as a testament to democracy.

Asia's longest-serving ruler, 71, made good on his pledge to leave peacefully and join the opposition, after a campaign in which he and his nemesis traded sharp accusations.

Gayoom garnered just 45.8 percent of the vote after Nasheed lined up the entire opposition behind him in the second round.

"In the life of a democracy this is a great moment, a great example by Maldivians. I accepted the will of the people," Gayoom said. "My legacy is going to be introducing a modern, liberal form of democracy. That is the greatest legacy anyone can give."

Nasheed's victory caps a remarkable journey for an activist whose criticism of Gayoom and crusading for democracy saw him charged 27 times and jailed or banished to remote atolls for a total of six years.

"This is a happier day than ever in the history of the Maldives. The Maldives will change, it will have a peaceful government," said Nasheed, 41, who was just 11 years old when Gayoom took power in 1978.

He said he had no plans to pursue criminal charges against Gayoom, whom he had accused of corruption, but instead will arrange a pension and security for him.

"A test of our democracy will be how we treat Maumoon. I don't think we should be going for a witchhunt and digging up the past," Nasheed said.

The vote is the culmination of years of agitation for democratic reforms on the string of 1,192 mostly uninhabited coral atolls 800 km (500 miles) off the tip of India, peopled by 300,000 Sunni Muslims.

DEMOCRACY RISES

With the country's international reputation as a diving hotspot and luxury hideaway for Hollywood stars and others ready to pay thousands of dollars for a night's stay, Gayoom had been criticized for ruling like a personal sultanate.

After early returns showed Nasheed ahead, many of his supporters lined the seawall in the capital, Male, to celebrate in the early morning sun.

Nasheed was at the forefront of the campaign for democracy, including the 2004 protests that prompted a brutal crackdown by security forces and drew rare international criticism, and attention, to the hideaway islands.

Gayoom won the October 9-10 first-round election, but fell short of the 50 percent needed to avoid a runoff.

It was the first time Gayoom had faced opposition at the polls since first being elected in 1978. In each of his six previous votes, he stood alone for a yes-no nod from voters and said he was re-elected by more than 90 percent each time.

This time, 86 percent of the tiny nation's more than 209,000 registered voters cast their ballots.

Although there were complaints about registration and fraud as in the first round, poll observers praised the exercise.

Gayoom is widely credited with overseeing the Maldives' transformation from a fishing-based economy to a tourism powerhouse with South Asia's highest per-capita income.

But Nasheed argued that only a small clique around Gayoom grew rich amid corruption in his government, which Gayoom denies.

Nasheed will take over an economy that earns 28 percent of its GDP directly from tourism but which is under IMF pressure to ease debts and trim a huge government payroll. Tourism is expected to suffer from the global financial crisis.

The archipelago also faces high child malnutrition, growing Islamic extremism, a major heroin problem, and rising sea levels that could see much of its land mass underwater by 2100, if a U.N. climate change panel's predictions are right.

Nasheed will also inherit a presidency with far fewer powers, thanks to the very changes for which he campaigned.

Source: www.reuters.com

Maldives president admits defeat

Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has conceded electoral victory to opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed.

Mr Gayoom, Asia's longest-serving leader, congratulated Mr Nasheed after final results were confirmed.

Mr Nasheed said his victory, in the nation's first democratic presidential poll, showed the people of the Maldives were embracing the future.

President Gayoom won the first round this month, but failed to secure the 50% needed for outright victory.

With all the votes counted in the second round, Mr Nasheed, a former political prisoner, won 54% to Mr Gayoom's 46%.

'Close race'

"I congratulate Anni [Mr Nasheed's popular name]," Mr Gayoom said in a radio address.

"I thank the people of the Maldives for allowing me to serve them for 30 years."

Mr Nasheed told the BBC he had spoken to Mr Gayoom and that the two men would meet later in the day.

The outgoing environment minister said the elections had been a "very close race".

Abdullah Mausoom said the country's first "multiparty elections have been held freely and fairly".

The election was the culmination of reforms in the Indian Ocean islands that followed pro-democracy street protests and international pressure.

Mr Gayoom, 71, has ruled the Maldives uncontested since 1978, elected back into office six times by referendums.

The BBC's Roland Buerk in the capital, Male, said Mr Gayoom's supporters had credited him with overseeing an economic expansion fuelled by tourism.

But Mr Gayoom's critics say he was a dictator who ruled like a sultan of old, says our correspondent.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Former political prisoner elected Maldivian president

A former political prisoner has been elected as the Maldives' new president, ending Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's record as one of Asia's longest-serving leaders, officials in Male said Wednesday. Gayoom, 71, was denied a seventh-consecutive term in Tuesday's run-off election and is to be succeeded by Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed, a 41-year-old activist who was once imprisoned by Gayoom's government.

Election Commission officials in Male said Nasheed received 54.21 per cent of the 174,250 votes cast against Gayoom's 45.7 per cent. Turnout was 83 per cent, they said.

Gayoom did nearly as well in the first round of voting held October 8 when he received 44 per cent while Nasheed got 25 per cent -both short of the required 50 per cent, prompting Tuesday's run-off.

Gayoom, who has ruled the Indian Ocean archipelago since 1978, has in recent years been under local and international pressure to introduce political reforms giving wider powers to parliament.

Nasheed, who represents the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), campaigned for democratic reforms.

After the declaration of the results, hundreds of MDP supporters took to the streets chanting slogans welcoming Nasheed.

During his campaign, Nasheed pledged to eradicate corruption, upgrade infrastructure and improve the educational system.

Tourism is the main source of income for the Maldives, a popular tourist destination with its diving locations being among its main attractions.

The defeat of Gayoom was likely to see the return of a large number of MDP supporters living outside the country. Some had expressed fears of being harassed by the Gayoom regime if they returned home.

Source: www.earthtimes.org

Asia's Longest-Serving Leader In Maldives Run-off Poll

Asia's longest-serving leader faces a democracy activist he once held as a political prisoner in a run-off vote Tuesday in the Maldives' first democratic presidential election.

President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, 71, who has led the tiny Muslim state through three decades of economic expansion but is accused of suppressing human rights, is hoping to win a seventh term in office.

The election, the first with more than one candidate on the ballot since the country gained independence from Britain in 1965, is seen as a referendum on Gayoom's policies and a test of the country's desire for change.

His challenger is Maldivian Democratic Party leader Mohamed Nasheed, who finished second in the first round of voting earlier this month in which no candidate received the required majority.

Under Gayoom, the Maldives' breathtaking beaches, crystal-clear waters and coral reefs are among the region's most popular diving spots and tourism is the most important source of income, followed by fishing.

Tuesday's winner will inherit the low-lying island nation's tough challenges - a looming global recession that will hit visitor numbers, rising sea levels caused by climate change, a growing heroin problem and a threat of Islamic fundamentalism.

Gayoom's allies have accused Nasheed of seeking to spread Christianity in the increasingly conservative Muslim country of 370,000.

Nasheed denies he has a secret Christian agenda. Like most Maldivians, he is a Sunni Muslim, a requirement for all presidential candidates.

The challengers both spoke confidently of victory at late-night rallies Sunday attended by thousands of supporters who came out despite tropical monsoon downpours.

"We want to bring reform to the Maldives, reform that leaves no room for other religions," Gayoom told a cheering crowd of around 4,000 wearing white headbands. "Maldivians want change, but good change."

Source: www.independentngonline.com

Maldives set for presidential run-off today

The first-ever democratic presidential battle in the Maldives goes to a second round Tuesday, with Asia’s longest serving leader facing his most outspoken critic, a former political prisoner.

Elections three weeks ago produced no clear winner after Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who has run the Indian Ocean archipelago unchallenged for 30 years, failed to deliver a knockout blow to second-placed Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed. The two rivals held final campaign rallies on Sunday night in the capital Male where more than a quarter of the 208,000 electorate is concentrated.

“What we really need is another 10,000 votes and Gayoom is comfortably home. But for the opposition, they need to get much, much more than that,” spokesman Mohammed Shareef said. In the October 8 vote, Gayoom won 41 percent - short of the 50 percent required to avoid a run-off - while Nasheed collected 25 percent. Many Maldivians say they are eager to see a fresh face in charge of their atoll nation, which, despite its image as a beach paradise, is beset by a critical housing shortage, rising crime and drug abuse.

“Lots of young people support Anni,” a party worker at Gayoom’s rally said. “But we feel he will pull through with support from the older voters and especially women. ” said the worker, who asked not to be named. The polling earlier this month struggled with various irregularities, which Ibrahim said included glitches with voter lists, identity cards and indelible ink washing off voters’ hands.However, European Union observers declared that the voting was fair.

Source: afp

THINK NATION

Please choose your team.

Its not just ONE candidate.

Think Nation.

Source: ML

India lauds free and fair polls in Maldives

auding the process of democratic transition underway in the Maldives, India Thursday praised the ‘peaceful and fair’ presidential election in the picturesque Indian Ocean nation comprising 1,190 islands.

‘We are heartened by the peaceful and fair manner in which the first round of multi-party presidential elections in Maldives took place recently,’ External Affairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee said in a statement here.

He was all praise for the Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who unveiled his roadmap for democratic reforms in 2004, for his ’sagacity and foresight’ for the first multi-party elections held under a new constitution in the island nation in the last three decades.

‘The elections saw a high turnout of voters (85.5 percent). It is for the people of Maldives to take necessary decisions about their future in the next round of elections which will be held soon,’ he said.

Underlining ‘close and friendly relations’ between the two countries, Mukherjee offered India’s willingness ‘to assist the friendly people of the Maldives in their democratic transition and in their march towards prosperity’.

India has stood by the Maldives in good and bad times. In 1988, the then prime minister Rajiv Gandhi sent troops to thwart militants who tried to oust Gayoom in a failed coup.

Gayoom, Asia’s longest-serving leader, will face Mohamed Nasheed, a former political prisoner and pro-democracy activist, in a run-off vote Oct 29 that will decide landmark multi-party elections.

Source: www.sindhtoday.net

Two old rivals now duel for Maldives presidency

Maldives' first free presidential race on Friday became a duel between Asia's longest-serving leader and the pro-democracy activist he jailed dozens of times, who said he now has a unified opposition behind himself.

Even before the electoral commission announced early on Friday that President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom and challenger Mohamed Nasheed would go to an Oct. 29 runoff, thousands of supporters of the two rivals took to the streets to celebrate.

Gayoom, the 71-year-old incumbent seeking a seventh term, got 40.6 percent of the votes in this week's poll, beset by rigging allegations and delays that stretched it into a second day. Nasheed, known as Anni, came second with 25.1 percent.

The Oct. 29 date puts it well outside the 10-day limit prescribed in a new election law, part of a series of democratic reforms Gayoom put in effect this year that culminated with the poll on islands that until 40 years ago were a sultanate.

Diplomats and a Commonwealth observation team praised the 85 percent turnout and said the overall exercise was credible despite the hitches.

"They did about as well as they could have, given this was their first time, and they did it all on the back of an envelope two weeks beforehand," said a Western diplomat who observed the polls. "The proof will be in the pudding in the second round, because it's head-to-head."

Nasheed, known popularly as Anni, was at the centre of pro-democracy protests in 2004 that led to a heavy-handed crackdown by Gayoom and drew rare international attention to politics in the sleepy Maldives.

"We support Anni because he's our Nelson Mandela," activist Ahmed Hameed, 47, said. Many Nasheed supports draw that comparison to the former South African president and longtime political prisoner.

'I HAVE YOUR LOVE'

The string of 1,192 mostly uninhabited coral atolls 800 km off the tip of India is mostly famous as a tropical idyll of azure waters and Robinson Crusoe-like isolation where a one-night stay can cost thousands of dollars.

A little less than two-thirds of the islands' 300,000 people, all Sunni Muslims by law, took part in the election.

Early on Friday morning, hundreds of supporters wearing the trademark yellow of Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party chanted "60 percent want change!" as he addressed them outside the party headquarters, a tin building where he was arrested many times.

He said that the other four opposition candidates had rallied behind him on a common platform of change.

"We are ready for a runoff even tomorrow," Nasheed told rapturous supporters who gathered around an enormous yellow cake to celebrate.

Across town, several thousand Gayoom supporters watched as dancing girls gyrated to loud music, the women wearing multi-coloured headscarves, until the president addressed them as his image shone over the crowd on large video screens.

"It is evident I have your love. Maldivians want reform. We want change, but we don't want to change the president," he said.

Gayoom was at the helm as the Maldives transformed from a fishing-dependent economy into a high-end tourism destination which now has the highest per capita income in South Asia.

Tourism accounts for 28 percent of GDP directly, with some estimates placing its total contribution as high as 70 percent.

"Whatever we see in this country is because of him. He built this country from scratch. It is a volatile time and we need an experienced and dedicated leader," consultant Mariyam Mohamed, 32, said.

But critics say Gayoom has been quick to clamp down on opposition and ruled the palm-dotted archipelago like a personal sultanate, where only a small clique around him became rich.

Source: in.reuters.com

Aussie James McGrath targeted in Maldives poll

THE first free election in the history of the Maldives might or might not topple Asia's longest-serving dictator, but it has already thrust Australian political strategist James McGrath back into the spotlight, a position he finds less than comfortable.

"For somebody who really likes to avoid attention and work behind the scenes, I suppose I've been having a pretty bad run," McGrath said by telephone yesterday after becoming the personal target of a withering publicity campaign launched by Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

Just before the start of Thursday's presidential voting, Gayoom, who won six previous five-year terms thanks to electoral rules that made him the only candidate, portrayed the 34-year-old Queenslander as a corrupt - and corrupting - outsider, masterminding the main opposition campaign.

A barrage of press conferences, briefings and even cartoons released by the President's team called McGrath a malicious and highly paid outsider and said he was a Christian missionary, trying to undermine the country's Muslim faith.

Democracy campaigners are now concerned that McGrath, who has been working in the Maldives for 12 weeks as an unpaid adviser to former political prisoner turned presidential candidate Mohamed Nasheed, may be deported before a final run-off election on October 29, and they have appointed minders to ensure there are no physical attacks on the Australian.

It is not the first unhappy exposure to public attention for McGrath, who shares the belief of his mentor and fellow conservative Lynton Crosby that political advisers are effective only when they "fly below the radar".

After starting his political career working for the South Australian Liberal government in 2001, McGrath travelled to Britain on a working holiday visa a year later and worked his way up in Conservative machine politics to become the chief political adviser to new London Mayor Boris Johnson in May.

But his days of invisibility ended just a month later, when Johnson sacked him for saying in a private meeting that Londoners of Caribbean descent were free to leave if they did not like Johnson's administration.

Johnson rejected claims that McGrath's comment was racist, but said he still had to go because Johnson did not want his administration to be tainted by such accusations.

After four weeks' holiday, McGrath went on what was supposed to be a 10-day assignment in the Maldives as "an interesting political experience" to keep him busy while he pondered his future.

The British Conservative Party used a government grant to fund his airfare and hotel costs for nine days as a show of support for the new opposition party, the Maldives Democratic Party, and when that time expired, the local party asked him to stay on.

Travelling by boat and small planes to about a third of the nation's 21 groups of islands, McGrath taught MDP campaigners and party leaders how to canvass and develop strategy.

"I found it quite humbling to be attending meetings with party leaders and realising I was the only one in the room who hadn't been beaten or arrested or exiled or tortured for my beliefs," McGrath said.

"When my colleagues start comparing scars and counting their broken bones, there's not much I can say to join in."

Street protests and foreign government pressure prompted Gayoom, 71, to allow multiple-candidate elections for president.

McGrath said the "passion that ordinary people are showing over being allowed to actually vote for an opposition candidate for the first time has been really exciting. From a total population of about 300,000, the MDP has got 30,000 members. You don't get that sort of commitment in Australian or British politics".

During his 30 years in power, Gayoom used top-end tourism to help make the Maldives the richest country in South Asia. It has an average annual income of $7620, but poverty is still widespread and the MDP has campaigned for better health services, housing and transport, cheaper food and action against drugs.

As the MDP's campaign gathered pace, the ruling party turned its fire on McGrath, claiming he was trying to spread Christianity and had been promised he could have his own island if he helped Nasheed become president.

Presidential spokesman Mohamed Hussein Shareef claimed McGrath had "links to a movement to change the Maldives into a multi-religious society".

McGrath described the claims as worrying.

"They held three press conferences in 36 hours to say all this stuff and it was all rubbish, but it could be damaging, especially the Christian missionary stuff. This is a very conservative and very Muslim society, and people don't want to hear that some foreigner is running around trying to introduce another religion."

Thursday's first round of voting gave the President 40.6per cent of the vote and Nasheed 25.1per cent. Four other opposition candidates were eliminated from the final run-off.

The President's backers argued that he was already within striking distance of a majority after the first poll, but the MDP said almost 60per cent of the voters had opted for change.

Nasheed claimed all four eliminated candidates had pledged to support him in the run-off.

"Until then, I will just be trying to keep working and not get kicked out of the country," McGrath said.

Source: www.theaustralian.news.com.au

No clear winner from landmark Maldives election

The first-ever democratic presidential election in the Maldives looked set to go into a second round after Asia's longest-serving leader apparently failed to deliver a knock-out blow to his rivals.

Official results based on roughly two-thirds of ballots cast showed incumbent President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom -- who has run the Indian Ocean archipelago unchallenged for 30 years -- in the lead but short of a majority needed to avoid a tough run-off.

The president had just under 40 percent support, the election commission said, with his most outspoken critic -- former political prisoner Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed -- in second place with around 26 percent.

If the counting trend holds, the two will fight head-to-head within 10 days.

Analysts say Gayoom will have a tough time fighting Nasheed in a run-off if supporters of the other opposition candidates rally behind the one-time Amnesty International "prisoner of conscience."

"If there is a second round, that would be a big blow to Gayoom. He was so sure of winning in the first round," said an official from Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), which had accused Gayoom of trying to rig the polls.

The landmark presidential vote held Wednesday was the first time Asia's longest-serving leader has allowed any competition.

The polls also marked the climax of an effort to bring political freedoms to the Muslim nation of 300,000 people in the wake of pro-democracy protests and international pressure.

Rival political parties were only allowed to be formed two years ago.

Many Maldivians are eager to see a fresh face in charge of their atoll nation -- which despite its image as a beach paradise is beset by problems including a critical housing shortage, rising crime and drug abuse.

Political tensions have also been mounting.

In January, one islander tried to stab Gayoom with a kitchen knife, and a year ago several tourists were injured in the Maldives' first-ever terrorist attack, which was blamed on Islamic militants and followed by a tough crackdown.

"I want change. Thirty years of Gayoom is long enough. He's been filling his pockets and denying our rights for long enough," said Hamza, a 20-year-old student who queued for five hours to cast his ballot.

While the cramped island capital Male is seen as an opposition stronghold, Gayoom -- with his conservative Muslim platform and father figure persona -- appears to be more popular on outlying islands.

Gayoom can also lay claim to having built South Asia's richest nation per capita, thanks to the opening of dozens of resorts on white sand beaches and crystal clear waters -- where some rooms cost up to 15,000 dollars a night.

"I feel I must be at the helm to see through the reform programme," Gayoom told reporters before the vote, positioning himself as a committed democrat rather than the Robert Mugabe-type politician his opponents paint him as.

And the president has also taken legal action against two opposition politicians who accused him of stealing 40 million dollars of tsunami aid and stashing away tens of millions more in a foreign bank account.

Source: afp.google.com

Presidential Election 2008 Result

'Dictator' Gayoom faces ex-prisoner Nasheed in first free election on Maldives

Asia's longest-serving ruler was up against a former political prisoner compared by some to Nelson Mandela as the Maldives held its first multiparty presidential elections yesterday.

Mamoun Abdul Gayoom, the 71-year-old President, won the six polls since 1978 as the only candidate on the ballot, before pro-democracy protests forced him to lift a ban on political parties in 2006.

He says that he will still win at least 50 per cent of the vote in a country he has transformed into South Asia's richest per capita, based on luxury resorts that can charge up to $15,000 (£8,700) for a room.

His and tsunami aid, and who rivals Robert Mugabe, the President of Zimbabwe, in his efforts to cling to power.

The front-runner of his five challengers is Mohammed “Anni” Nasheed, 41, a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience who spent six years in jail and was given political asylum in Britain in 2004.

Mr Nasheed, who returned to the Maldives in 2005 and now heads the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), said: “The people of this country deserve better - we've had a dictatorship for the last 30 years.

“If we can't have a free and fair election then the good people of Britain should question how beautiful the Maldives is based on other factors, not just its white sandy beaches.”

As voters queued outside polling stations in the rain, opposition parties accused Mr Gayoom of trying to rig the poll using tricks such as removing their members from the electoral roll. Mariya Didi, chairwoman of the MDP, went to her polling station to find that she and her ten brothers and sisters were not on the voting list.

Ahmed Shaheed, a former Foreign Minister running as an independent vice-presidential candidate, said: “It's a disaster. I think there is deliberate tampering.” Mr Nasheed said that the Government had tried to annul the vote because of the problems with the electoral roll but had backed down after protests from the opposition.

“We feel that things are going our way - we will win an absolute majority,” he said. “Of course they will rig the result later because they can't afford to lose. But if they rig it, I think the reaction will be very violent.”

The ruling party said that the voting problems were understandable and that some of its officials also had difficulties at polling stations. A spokeswoman for Mr Gayoom's party said: “Because it is our first multiparty election, we are experiencing a lot of teething problems.”

The election commission responded by extending last night's voting deadline and allowing anyone with a national ID card to vote, prompting further protests from the opposition.

Analysts say the results, due today, are hard to predict because there has been no reliable opinion polling. They say that Mr Gayoom's conservative platform remains popular in outlying parts of the nation of 370,000 people, mostly Sunni Muslims, spread across 1,192 islands in the Indian Ocean.

They also say that he is increasingly unpopular in Malé, the capital of 104,000 people which has a growing heroin problem and suffered its first terrorist attack, blamed on Islamist militants, a year ago. If no candidate wins more than 50 per cent, there will be a run-off between the two front-runners - probably Mr Gayoom and Mr Nasheed.

Mr Gayoom, who survived an assassination attempt in January, has promised to bow out if he loses, but still appears confident of winning another five-year term.

“I feel I must be at the helm to see through the reform programme,” he told reporters in his final campaign appearance, dismissing comparisons with dictators around the world.

“It is very wrong to compare me to those people,” he said.

Source: www.timesonline.co.uk

Run-off vote expected in Maldives election

Preliminary results in the Maldives first multi-party election show Asia's longest serving leader is unlikely to avoid a run-off vote.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who's ruled the country for 30 years, has taken the lead in the islands' first democratic election, but preliminary results indicated he would fall short of a majority need to avoid a run-off.

The final official results are expected later today.

Australian MP Fran Bailey, who's in the Maldives as part of an eight-member Commowealth Observer Mission, has told Radio Australia the election was well-organised at a local level, but there were some issues with voter ID cards.

"In virtually every island, there were people ranging in numbers from a handful to large numbers of people who had not received their ID cards, and of course they can't vote without those," she said.

Source: www.radioaustralia.net.au

Incumbent leads in Maldives vote marred by delays

The Maldives 30-year incumbent leader is ahead in the islands' first multiparty presidential election, according to preliminary results on Thursday from a poll marred by rigging charges and delays that took it into a second day.

Polling closed on Thursday morning -- some 12 hours behind schedule -- and shortly afterwards the election commission said President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom had 39.8 percent of the 130,316 votes counted.

The election in the sleepy Maldives, best known as a tropical Indian Ocean hideaway for Hollywood stars, is the culmination of years of agitation for democratic reforms which Gayoom, 71, finally signed into law in August.

One of the chief agitators for those reforms, Mohamed Nasheed, was in second place with 26.35 percent. Nasheed, known as Anni, was jailed repeatedly by Asia's longest-serving leader on what rights groups said were trumped-up charges.

"We will try to have the final result at 11:30 p.m. (1830 GMT). Voting is no longer going on. Counting is going on," Elections Commissioner Mohamed Ibrahim told a press conference.

The commission said it had no turnout figures for the 208,252 registered voters, but had verified 68 percent of the 396 ballot boxes.

But given the wide disparity in the size of polling stations spread over 200 inhabited islands and a few luxury resort islands it was hard to gain a clear picture, the board said.

If no one gets 50 percent of the vote, it will go to a runoff due within 10 days.

DELAYED POLLING

Just a few hours after polling opened on Wednesday, voters complained of missing registrations or ink that was supposed to be indelible washing off the hands of those who had voted.

After an emergency meeting, the electoral board said anyone with an ID card could vote, prompted three opposition challengers to declare the poll would be subject to fraud and double-voting.

But Nasheed, whose vocal criticism throughout Gayoom's reign repeatedly landed him in jail, said the problems were too minor to affect the vote.

The decision to open up voting led the polls, which had been due to end at 8 p.m. (1500 GMT) on Wednesday, to drag into the Thursday morning.

Many Maldivians had expected vote-rigging and bribery. Despite some minor threats in the final days of campaigning, the polling went peacefully amid a heavy security presence.

Gayoom is seeking a seventh term running the island nation of 300,000 mainly Sunni Muslims, which in the past he has been accused of ruling like a sultanate.

That form of government was abolished on the islands, located 800 km (500 miles) off the tip of India, 40 years ago.

He campaigned on a record of developing tourism to make per capita income on the chain of 1,192 islands the highest in South Asia.

But critics say tourism, which directly accounts for 28 percent of GDP and by some estimates up to 70 percent indirectly, has only benefited a small group surrounding him.

Diplomats had hoped the poll will be an example of a credible democratic election in a Muslim majority nation, with a non-violent transition should power change hands. Gayoom has pledged a peaceful handover if he loses.

Gayoom drew international criticism after a heavy-handed crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, which eventually led to his signing into law last month a new constitution that established an independent judiciary and electoral body.

It also abolished the old style of voting for president, where a parliament-approved candidate stood in a yes-no referendum that Gayoom won six times.

Source: in.reuters.com

Voters in Maldives question register

Voting opened in the tiny Indian Ocean nation of Maldives yesterday in the Islamic country's first multi-party presidential elections.

But reports of widespread irregularities spread almost immediately after polling started, with voters throughout the country's 196 far-flung inhabited islands complaining of an incomplete voter register.

A four-hour emergency meeting of the elections commission resulted in a decision to continue polling, but with an ad-hoc registration system in place that raised concerns over manipulation.

Source: www.ft.com

Gayoom headed for likely runoff in Maldives

Incomplete election results show that President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom appears headed for a runoff against the nation's main opposition leader in the Maldives' first democratic presidential election.

Elections commission chairman Mohamed Ibrahim said Thursday that Gayoom received nearly 40 percent of the 130,000 votes counted, while Maldivian Democratic Party leader Mohamed Nasheed came in second with just over 26 percent.

The commission did not announce turnout among the 208,000 registered voters. But the votes announced represented well over 50 percent of those cast in Wednesday's election.

If no candidate wins an outright majority, the two top vote-getters meet in a runoff.

Source: AP

Maldives begin historic election

The first multi-party presidential polls in the Maldives have opened with President Gayoom seeking a seventh term in power.

The president is facing five challengers, some of whom have been strongly critical of his "dictatorial and bullying" style of leadership.

President Gayoom is Asia's longest serving leader and has been in power for more than 30 years.

The polls are the culmination of reforms he introduced.

Polling began at 0400GMT and 208,000 people are eligible to vote.

Correspondents say that the campaign has been hard fought and lively, with noisy late-night rallies in the capital, Male.

There are many problems for the newly elected president to confront including a growing heroin problem among the young and the threat caused by rising sea levels which environmentalists say could wash the country away.

Candidates have used sea planes to canvas for votes among the hundreds of islands that makes up the archipelago.

President Gayoom has urged voters to back him because he is a "safe pair of hands" who will keep the country's economy - especially its important tourism sector - functioning smoothly.

The president argues that after 30 years of his leadership, the Maldives has become South Asia's richest economy, at the forefront of the international battle against climate change and on the verge of becoming a fully fledged democracy.

"If you want a leader who will protect these freedoms, our religion and our culture, then vote for me," he told supporters, promising "five more dynamic years".

President Gayoom's bedrock support is on the islands and he has been travelling by plane across the atolls to encourage people to vote.

Security around him has been tight - in January an islander tried to stab him, but he was foiled by a boy scout who fought the attacker.

'More trustworthy'

The main challenger to President Gayoom is Mohamed Nasheed of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) - one of his fiercest critics and a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience.

"From this stage, it is about the personality, who is more credible, more trustworthy," Mr Nasheed said.

He said that his administration would comprise people from all parties and - unlike the president - he would ban his relatives from holding key government jobs.

"We counted close to 44 of his family members in senior posts," he said.

Mr Nasheed has also accused President Gayoom of "dirty tricks" including what he says is the false allegation that the MDP wants to convert everyone to Christianity.

The election follows reforms introduced after Mr Gayoom was accused of crushing pro-democracy protests in 2004.

If no candidate gets more than 50% of the votes, a second round of polling will be held.

"This should not be done by so called father of environment.
Campaign leaflet is throng all over male' roads"

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Is Asia's longest serving leader on way out?

The tourist paradise of the Maldives is getting its first democratic presidential election on Wednesday. It could mark the end of the road for Asia's longest serving leader.

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has ruled the Indian Ocean islands for 30 years, elected in 'yes or no' referendums since 1978.

He is running for another term in office. But this time he faces a challenge from five opponents.

If no candidate gets more than 50%, the vote will go to a second round.

Turquoise lagoons

President Gayoom insists that he is not running out of steam after three decades at the top and wants to serve another five years.

I joined him on a seaplane as he travelled from atoll to atoll campaigning in this country of nearly 1,200 islands.

We flew over coral islands surrounded by white beaches before landing by turquoise lagoons.

People lined the jetties to greet him, clapping, cheering, singing and dancing.

After his speeches hundreds lined up to shake his hand.

President Gayoom claims credit for making the Maldives South Asia's most prosperous and orderly nation, largely thanks to tourism.

There have been advances in education, health and life expectancy on the Muslim archipelago.

Now he says to complete a transition to democracy he needs more time in office.

Well received

"I think this is a vital time for my country and I have begun this very important reform agenda," said President Gayoom.

"After being president for 30 years or even 35 years, to have this as my heritage to leave to the people, a new liberal democracy in the Maldives, that is the reason why."

Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's message is that he has experience, and stands for stability and continued economic growth.

On the atolls he visited it was well received.

One man said that 30 years of the president was not enough, he should have at least 10 more in power.

But the opposition says President Gayoom is a dictator, who only began reforms in response to street protests, and has had to be pushed all the way to this first democratic election.

'No answers'

These elections are the first time he has allowed competition.

Of the five rival candidates, most attention is on Mohamed Nasheed Anni of the Maldivian Democratic Party which spearheaded the anti-Gayoom demonstrations.

Mr Nasheed clearly enjoys support on the cramped island capital of Male.

His final rally dwarfed those of the incumbent in the city. The crowd stood and cheered in torrential rain.

Mr Nasheed was once a political prisoner, now he is a candidate for president.

His supporters like to paint him as the Maldives' very own Nelson Mandela, while President Gayoom is depicted in the role of Robert Mugabe.

Mr Nasheed says President Gayoom has no answers for the problems of the Maldives - a paradise for wealthy tourists - but troubled by inequitable distribution of wealth, bored youths and drugs.

"He's already had 30 years," he said, snorting with derision at the idea of the president he calls a dictator needing more time for reforms.

"We really quite can't see how and what else he's going to do with another five years. He's ruined our lives for 30 years and now he has the audacity to come out and say he needs another five years. He's not going to get it."

And his supporters are hungry for change.

"We are 30 years old but the same president is going on, the same things are happening," said one.

"This will change the whole country because this 30-year-old dictatorship is finished," said another.

Both President Gayoom and Mr Nasheed say they are convinced of victory in the poll on Wednesday.

But with six candidates running it may be that neither gets more than 50% of the vote, so the elections will go into a second round.

The people of the Maldives await the outcome with baited breath.

Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Five candidates challenge Gayoom

Long-time President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom will face five opponents in the Maldives’ first democratic presidential election next month, said election officials.

The election is the culmination of a four-year reform effort intended to fight corruption and bring democracy to the Indian Ocean archipelago known more as a tourist getaway than a hotbed of political activism. Though most of the candidates have been known for several weeks, the Election Commission officially announced who would be on the October 8 ballot on Sunday.

Mr. Gayoom, who has ruled the Sunni-Muslim nation of nearly 1,200 mostly uninhabited islands for 30 years, hopes to capture a seventh consecutive term under a new Constitution, which has been hailed as an important reform step for the country. His main challengers are expected to be Mohamed Nasheed, head of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party, and the former Attorney-General, Hassan Saeed. A former Foreign Minister who is also a prominent businessman, an Islamic party candidate and the head of a small opposition party are also running.

“I think this is going to be a very transparent, free and fair election, said Mr. Gayoom after the announcement. If no one wins an outright majority, there will be a run-off election between the two with the most votes. Mr. Gayoom faced no opposition in previous elections because political parties were banned, and voters were only allowed to vote “yes” or “no.”

He has been credited with turning a sleepy string of fishing islands into a major tourism destination and filling its coffers with hard currency. But he has also been accused of ruling the country with an authoritarian grip, while drug abuse and Islamist radicalism have increased during his decades in power.

Mr. Gayoom’s candidacy is being challenged in the Supreme Court under new laws that limit presidents to two terms.

An Islamic party has also accused him of not being a Sunni, a prerequisite for the presidency. Mr. Nasheed’s eligibility is also being challenged because of a 2001 theft conviction that was widely viewed as politically motivated.

The elections are the culmination of a reform movement that began in 2004 following mass street demonstrations over the death of a teenager at the hands of prison guards. Political parties were legalised in 2005 and the new Constitution, ratified in August, limits the President’s powers and promises Maldivians new rights, including freedom of speech and assembly.

Source: www.thehindu.com

Former Barbados PM to lead Commonwealth election observers to Maldives

Barbados: Former Barbados Prime Minister Owen Arthur will lead a Commonwealth Observer Group to the Maldives Presidential Election scheduled for 8 October 2008.

This was announced by Commonwealth Secretary-General Kamalesh Sharma. The Observers will be supported by a staff team from the Commonwealth Secretariat.

The Commonwealth was invited by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Maldives to observe the election

"This election is the first to be conducted under the new Constitution, which was ratified in August 2008, and the first election under the new multi-party system," said the Secretary-General.

He added that the mandate of the Observer Group is to consider the various factors impinging on the credibility of the electoral process as a whole. The Group will determine in its own judgement whether the election has been conducted according to the standards for democratic elections to which the country has committed itself, in adhering to national election-related legislation and relevant regional, Commonwealth and other international commitments.

The team will be in the Maldives from 1 October.

Source: www.caribbeannetnews.com