Presidential elections in Maldives today
Updated
Asia's longest serving political leader is facing the prospect of losing his job as the President of the Maldives. The Indian Ocean tourist paradise is having its first taste of democracy with multi-party elections being held to choose a president for the next five years. The 71 year old incumbent, President Maumon Abdul Gayoom, has ruled the Maldives for three decades, but says he needs another five years to continue his reforms.
Presenter: Michael Coggan
COGGAN: For many non-Maldivians the Maldives are synonymous with white sand beaches and five star resorts perched over crystal clear waters, but over the past four years the Muslim archipelago has also seen landmark political change. Today, two-thirds of the country's 300,000 residents have the right to cast a vote in their first democratic election.
The streets of the cramped capital Male have been the scene of loud political rallies in the lead-up to today's presidential election, something previously unheard of during the 30-year iron fisted rule of President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
For the first time the 71 year-old President is allowing political opponents to challenge him for the top job - the result of constitutional reforms introduced by the President and approved this year. But his opponents say a four-year political campaign that saw violent protests in 2004 and 2005 and many people jailed for dissent forced the President to act.
One of those jailed dissenters, Mohamed 'Anni' Nasheed, is considered the strongest of the five candidates challenging the President. He has attracted large crowds during rallies in the capital promising better housing, healthcare, and action against drugs and crime. 41 year-old 'Anni' says he spent many nights in jail, in solitary confinement dreaming of this moment, and he will win.
But analysts say Gayoom can't be written off. He's also been drawing large crowds while campaigning on the atolls away from the capital where his more conservative traditional message is likely to garner more support. President Gayoom says he's the safest pair of hands for the low-lying islands and is promising five more dynamic years.
To ensure the voting is free and fair a nine-member Commonwealth observer group has been in the Maldives since the start of the month. Led by the former Prime Minister of Barbados the group, including former Australian Government minister Fran Bailey, will cover at least nine of the more than 1,100 islands in the archipelago, and if the poll quoted on the minivannews website showing President Gayoom and Anni neck-and-neck is correct, the observers could find themselves hopping between atolls a little longer.
If none of the six candidates win the minimum 50 percent of the vote required today - a run-off election between the two front-runners will have to be held within ten days.
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