ID :
23668
Fri, 10/10/2008 - 15:24
Auther :
Shortlink :
http://m.oananews.org//node/23668
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Gayoom headed for runoff with rival in Maldives polls
Male, Oct 9 (PTI) Maldives President Abdul Gayoom and his rival Mohammed Anni Nasheed may face other each other in the second round of Presidential polls as none of the three candidates in the fray are likely to get the stipulated 50 percent of votes in the first round.
As per the rules, if any candidate fails to secure 50
percent of the votes polled, there will be a run off between
candidates finishing first and second.
It may take about 10 days to know the winner of the
Presidential elections in Maldives if the run-off becomes
inevitable, officials said here.
The 71-year-old Gayoom is the longest serving
President in Asia and has been in power since 1978.
With counting for about two-thirds of ballots over,
Gayoom has secured 39.78 percent of votes, about 10 percent
short of the winning target of half of the votes polled.
While his main opponent Mohamed Anni Nasheed of
Maldivian Democratic Party has polled 26.35 percent of the
votes, former attorney general and independent candidate
Hassan Saeed has polled 17 percent of votes.
Though the Election Commission here has not given the
number of votes cast out of an eligible 2,08,000 votes at 394
polling centres Wednesday, unconfirmed reports said that only
50,000 votes were yet to be counted making it difficult to
decide on any clear winner in the presidential polls in this
Indian Ocean archipelago.
The elections were held amidst allegation of
widespread irregularities by the Opposition.
In August, the government here approved a law
permitting multi-party elections, responding to years of
political agitation for reform.
In the wake of mounting pressure on the issue of names
missing from the voters list, the election commission in a
late decision Wednesday allowed all those above 18 years to
vote on production of identity proof.
Hence quite a few voters thronged at the polling
centers in the evening forcing the election commission to
extend the voting hours till 10:00 p.m. (local time) Wednesday
night.
Analysts say Gayoom will have to fight hard in the
event of a run off with Nasheed if supporters of the other
opposition candidates rally behind the one-time Amnesty
International "prisoner of conscience."
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.
So much was the enthusiasm for the elections, that
thousands braved the intermittent rains to participate in the
polls.
There were 394 polling centres includes one in India,
Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia for the 2,08,000 Maldivian
voters.
The Maldives, a favourite tourist destination, is
endowed with a chain of 1192 coral and white sand islands.
Despite sporadic complaints of irregularities, the
voting went on smoothly under the under the strict observation
of international observers.
Gayoom survived a bid on his life early this year
while mingling with a crowd on Hoarafushi in the north of
Maldives.
The culprit who tried to attack the President with a
knife was overpowered and Gayoom escaped without any injury.
PTI TVS
As per the rules, if any candidate fails to secure 50
percent of the votes polled, there will be a run off between
candidates finishing first and second.
It may take about 10 days to know the winner of the
Presidential elections in Maldives if the run-off becomes
inevitable, officials said here.
The 71-year-old Gayoom is the longest serving
President in Asia and has been in power since 1978.
With counting for about two-thirds of ballots over,
Gayoom has secured 39.78 percent of votes, about 10 percent
short of the winning target of half of the votes polled.
While his main opponent Mohamed Anni Nasheed of
Maldivian Democratic Party has polled 26.35 percent of the
votes, former attorney general and independent candidate
Hassan Saeed has polled 17 percent of votes.
Though the Election Commission here has not given the
number of votes cast out of an eligible 2,08,000 votes at 394
polling centres Wednesday, unconfirmed reports said that only
50,000 votes were yet to be counted making it difficult to
decide on any clear winner in the presidential polls in this
Indian Ocean archipelago.
The elections were held amidst allegation of
widespread irregularities by the Opposition.
In August, the government here approved a law
permitting multi-party elections, responding to years of
political agitation for reform.
In the wake of mounting pressure on the issue of names
missing from the voters list, the election commission in a
late decision Wednesday allowed all those above 18 years to
vote on production of identity proof.
Hence quite a few voters thronged at the polling
centers in the evening forcing the election commission to
extend the voting hours till 10:00 p.m. (local time) Wednesday
night.
Analysts say Gayoom will have to fight hard in the
event of a run off with Nasheed if supporters of the other
opposition candidates rally behind the one-time Amnesty
International "prisoner of conscience."
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.
So much was the enthusiasm for the elections, that
thousands braved the intermittent rains to participate in the
polls.
There were 394 polling centres includes one in India,
Sri Lanka, Singapore and Malaysia for the 2,08,000 Maldivian
voters.
The Maldives, a favourite tourist destination, is
endowed with a chain of 1192 coral and white sand islands.
Despite sporadic complaints of irregularities, the
voting went on smoothly under the under the strict observation
of international observers.
Gayoom survived a bid on his life early this year
while mingling with a crowd on Hoarafushi in the north of
Maldives.
The culprit who tried to attack the President with a
knife was overpowered and Gayoom escaped without any injury.
PTI TVS
