Maldives in landmark vote but opposition cries foul

Agence France-Presse . Male

Tourist paradise the Maldives voted Wednesday in its first multi-party presidential elections, which could see Asia’s longest-serving president ousted by a former political prisoner.
The polls on the Indian Ocean archipelago pit Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, aged 71 and the islands’ president for the past 30 years, against five bitter rivals.
But the election — a test for the Muslim nation’s often tense transition to democracy — was hit by allegations of rigging, with the main opposition party claiming some of its members had been removed from the electoral roll.
‘We had high hopes for today,’ said a furious Mariya Didi, chairwoman of the Maldivian Democratic Party, who was unable to vote. ‘We hoped that once in our lifetime we could vote freely, but today we are being denied our right.’
The MDP’s founder Mohamed ‘Anni’ Nasheed, one of the president’s fiercest critics and a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, is seen as Gayoom’s strongest rival.
Anni insisted he was on track to unseat Gayoom, saying ‘the writing is on the wall’ for the veteran leader who served six terms under a one-candidate election system before lifting a ban on political parties two years ago.
The ruling party acknowledged there were ‘teething problems’ with the islands’ first taste of democracy, and said some of its officials also had difficulties casting their ballots.
Nevertheless, turnout appeared to be high in the island capital Male — considered an opposition stronghold — with queues outside polling stations despite heavy rain.
‘Thirty years is really enough, and he should retire,’ said taxi driver Mohammad Nazir, who queued for two hours to cast a ballot for Gayoom’s main rival.
‘I laugh when I see his campaign promises — more hospitals and more houses. The reality is that he runs this place like he’s the king. People are tired of him.’
Gayoom has 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.
But while it may be a top spot for honeymooners, the local population complains of increasing drug abuse, worsening crime and a chronic housing shortage.
The opposition says half the top government jobs are held by Gayoom’s family and Anni has branded Gayoom as a ‘has-been sultan’.
The country has been rocked by pro-democracy protests, prompting Gayoom to introduce reforms, and also suffered its first terror attack a year ago, with Islamic militants blamed for bombing a park in Male and wounding a dozen tourists.
While opposition rallies have drawn large crowds in Male, Gayoom and his conservative Muslim platform and father figure persona appear to be well liked on outlying atolls.
But security around him remains tight — in January, one islander tried to stab him with a kitchen knife.
Gayoom says he can fight off any challenger and win more than 50 per cent of the vote to avoid a run-off but with no reliable opinion polls, the outcome is impossible to predict.
‘I feel I must be at the helm to see through the reform programme,’ Gayoom told reporters in his final campaign appearance, positioning himself as a committed democrat rather than the Robert Mugabe-type politician his opponents paint him as.
‘It is very wrong to compare me to those people,’ he said, promising to bow out quietly should he lose. He has also accused his rivals of dirty tricks, taking out defamation cases 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. Other prominent opponents of the president include former attorney general Hassan Saeed and local business magnate Ghaseem Ibrahim.
In all, 208,000 people are eligible to vote. Polls opened at 9:00am (0400 GMT) and close at 9:00pm. Results are expected Thursday.