Maldivian President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom appeared headed for an overwhelming victory yesterday in a referendum on the Maldives' future form of government, a poll seen as an informal vote of confidence on his three-decade rule of this tiny Indian Ocean nation.
Gayoom, criticized as a dictator by the opposition, supported a US-style political system with a powerful executive presidency for this Sunni Muslim nation of 300,000 people.
The opposition, wary of consolidating power in yet another leader, backed a British-style parliament, which would be led by a weaker prime minister.
PHOTO: AFP
The vote was seen as the first true expression of democracy in the Maldives' 43-year history.
Preliminary results yesterday morning showed the presidential form of government gaining roughly two-thirds support, 52,969 votes, to 26,544 votes for a parliamentary system.
Turnout had not yet been announced, so it was not clear what percentage of the referendum vote that represented, though it appeared to be well above half.
"If ever anybody needed, locally or internationally, an endorsement of how popular this man is, this is sufficient," presidential spokesman Mohamed Shareef said.
A credible poll was expected to clear the way for the Maldives to adopt a new constitution in November and to hold its first multiparty elections next year.
On Saturday, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party said it filed 120 complaints about voting irregularities.
The ruling party, known locally as the DRP, complained the opposition engaged in intimidation, violence and illegal campaigning, but as the favorable numbers began flowing in, they issued a release saying the vote was relatively peaceful.
"The people have definitely embraced the democratic reform agenda of the president," Shareef said.
MDP officials were not immediately available for comment on the results.
Calm prevailed on Saturday at many polling booths in Male and international observers on remote islands reported orderly voting.
Mohamed Shahuneem, 18, said he was going to vote for a presidential system to show his support for Gayoom.
"We are very happy. It's normal here because of the president," he said.
"If this man brings freedom and democracy to us, it will be a miracle," said Adam Maniku, 60, a former deputy finance minister.
Gayoom has led the nation of 1,190 coral islands through explosive economic growth, fueled by 600,000 tourists a year.
But Western diplomats and international human rights groups have accused him of using torture and police crackdowns to stifle dissent during his nearly three-decade rule.
Archeologists in Peru on Thursday said they found the 5,000-year-old remains of a noblewoman at the sacred city of Caral, revealing the important role played by women in the oldest center of civilization in the Americas. “What has been discovered corresponds to a woman who apparently had elevated status, an elite woman,” archeologist David Palomino said. The mummy was found in Aspero, a sacred site within the city of Caral that was a garbage dump for more than 30 years until becoming an archeological site in the 1990s. Palomino said the carefully preserved remains, dating to 3,000BC, contained skin, part of the
TRUMP EFFECT: The win capped one of the most dramatic turnarounds in Canadian political history after the Conservatives had led the Liberals by more than 20 points Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney yesterday pledged to win US President Donald Trump’s trade war after winning Canada’s election and leading his Liberal Party to another term in power. Following a campaign dominated by Trump’s tariffs and annexation threats, Carney promised to chart “a new path forward” in a world “fundamentally changed” by a US that is newly hostile to free trade. “We are over the shock of the American betrayal, but we should never forget the lessons,” said Carney, who led the central banks of Canada and the UK before entering politics earlier this year. “We will win this trade war and
‘BODIES EVERYWHERE’: The incident occurred at a Filipino festival celebrating an anti-colonial leader, with the driver described as a ‘lone suspect’ known to police Canadian police arrested a man on Saturday after a car plowed into a street party in the western Canadian city of Vancouver, killing a number of people. Authorities said the incident happened shortly after 8pm in Vancouver’s Sunset on Fraser neighborhood as members of the Filipino community gathered to celebrate Lapu Lapu Day. The festival, which commemorates a Filipino anti-colonial leader from the 16th century, falls this year on the weekend before Canada’s election. A 30-year-old local man was arrested at the scene, Vancouver police wrote on X. The driver was a “lone suspect” known to police, a police spokesperson told journalists at the
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has unveiled a new naval destroyer, claiming it as a significant advancement toward his goal of expanding the operational range and preemptive strike capabilities of his nuclear-armed military, state media said yesterday. North Korea’s state-run Korean Central News Agency (KCNA) said Kim attended the launching ceremony for the 5,000-tonne warship on Friday at the western port of Nampo. Kim framed the arms buildup as a response to perceived threats from the US and its allies in Asia, who have been expanding joint military exercises amid rising tensions over the North’s nuclear program. He added that the acquisition
RSS