Counting begins for presidential elections in Maldives

Counting of votes has started after balloting concluded peacefully in the controversy-ridden presidential polls in the Maldives today under the watchful eyes of the Elections Commission (EC) and security agencies.

EC President Fuwad Thowfeek said the turnout was much lower than in the annulled September 7 election. "Last time, a large number of people queued in the beginning. But we have no way of knowing the numbers on queue this time around. From the broadcasts on TV channels, we know that the number is lower," he said.

Polling officially ended at 3.30 pm local time for the 239,105 eligible voters, but many were still waiting in queues to cast their ballot, local media reported. There was confusion on whether a run-off will be held tomorrow as the EC said Jumhoory Party (JP) and Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) were yet to endorse the voters' lists, a charge later denied by the parties.

If no candidate gets over 50 per cent of votes in today's balloting, a run-off will be required between the candidate who receives the maximum number of votes and the runner-up.

Today's polls is the Maldives' third attempt to elect a president in as many months. The country needs to have a new president in place by November 11 when the incumbents term ends.

The EC had earlier scheduled the run-off for November 16, but brought it forward to tomorrow to avoid a constitutional crisis. However, EC member Ali Mohamed Manik told news portal Haveeru that JP is yet to sign any lists for the run-off, while PPM has stopped signing them today. "If there has to be a second round, it is to be held tomorrow. However, we are facing some obstacles," said Thowfeek.

Former President Mohammed Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) issued a statement "congratulating the people of the Maldives for peacefully and patiently voting in the new first round of presidential elections. The Maldivian people have, once again, shown their unrelenting commitment to democracy".

"The MDP is pleased to note that today's polls proceeded smoothly, without major incident. The elections were observed by over 2,000 party officials as well as local and international election monitors," the statement said.

Independent election observer group Transparency Maldives commended the EC for the smooth polling. Candidates were well represented at polling stations at the beginning of polling, and the opening procedure went well with 99 per cent of polling stations open by 8 am, it said.

In today's voting, 46-year-old Nasheed's main challenger was Abdulla Yameen of PPM, the half-brother of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who was President from 1978 to 2008. The third candidate is business and resort tycoon Qasim Ibrahim of the JP.

The political scene in the Maldives has been in a state of flux since the country's first democratically elected President, Nasheed, resigned under duress in February 2012. He was succeeded by Vice-President Mohammed Waheed.

After casting his vote earlier today, Waheed told Minivan News that he felt he had left a good democratic legacy and hoped the transfer of power would be smooth. "This vote is very important because the Maldivian people want to elect a new leader and they've been waiting for this for some time now. I hope this is all going to go well and soon we will have an elected president," he said.

PPM candidate Yameen said the MDP is unlikely to achieve a first round victory. "I don't believe that will happen. Because there were lots of problems in the first round and it is not a correct vote," he said.

Nasheed won the first round of polls on September 7, which was annulled by the Supreme Court that said the voters' list contained ineligible names. He bagged 45.45% of the votes in that round, forcing a run-off. The Supreme Court, however, annulled the result and ordered fresh polls. Police then blocked the re-vote on October 19, plunging the country into a fresh crisis.