Nasheed, the former president of the Maldives, has
advised the tourists visiting the country to be aware of the political problems
of the region.
Nasheed, a veteran human rights activist and
environmental campaigner, was then forced to leave the post, which according to
him was a coup. He had been in power since 2008, when the elections ended the
30 year old autocratic rule of Abdul Mamoun Gayoom.
It is expected that, millions of tourists are going to
visit this picturesque and luxury destination this year, compared to previous
year, the number is at par. The region economy is highly depended on tourism
and tourism officially adds up to 30% of the Maldives $2.1 bn economy, which
unofficial estimates say it to be much larger.
Almost every tourist goes directly to their resorts and
stay during their visit to this nation, which are situated on uninhabited
islands that are let off from strict laws prohibiting alcohol in the Muslim
state.
Nasheed, who is 45, has been grave of the international
community's reaction to his ousting in February, which was followed by weeks of
street protests by the opposition parties. He will be facing trial next month
for ordering the detention of a senior judge while the tenure of his presidency.
His supporters believe that the trail is politically motivated and is aimed to
prevent Nasheed to contest in the election polls scheduled to be held next
year.
On the other hand, Mohamed Jameel, minister of home
affairs, claimed that the charge of abducting a sitting judge was "not
political" but "a criminal offence".
A Commonwealth-backed Commission of National Inquiry
stated that the events in February did not comprise a coup. The situation in
Maldives is being closely watched by the regional powers along with diplomats
in Europe and the US.
London and Washington have made their reviews clear for
Nasheed, who passed a string of economic reforms and wanted to offset
tendencies in the Sunni Muslim country towards a more conservative form of
Islam often mixed with strong anti-western sentiments.
Whereas, the Indian diplomats are worried about the
possibility of their neighbors China and Pakistan, taking advantage of the
situation to enhance their influence in the strategically situated islands.
A huge slump in budget deficit has destabilized the
country's public finances and seriously weakened its currency. On top of this,
economic measures taken by Nasheed's government under pressure from the
International Monetary Fund, such as new sales taxes, angered some of the
business community and contributed to his ousted from power, according to the analysts.
However, Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP)
remains to be popular, especially among the young and in urban areas,
continuing to be the largest political organization by some margin.
Nasheed accumulated 45.08 percent of the vote and is set
for a run-off with Abdulla Yameen, the half brother of former autocrat, Maumoon
Abdul Gayoom, who cumulated 31.21 percent of the vote.
The official count stated that still 3.4 percent of the
vote was yet to be declared, but even it favored Nasheed, he would be short of
the 50 percent, which is required to absolutely win the contest and avoid a
run-off scheduled for Sunday.
Nevertheless, there were doubts over the second round
with Chief Elections Commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek claiming that the second and
third positioned candidates were yet to endorse voter lists for Sunday's vote,
a requirement ordered by the Supreme Court.
Later in Saturday, a member of candidate Qasim Ibrahim's
Jumhoory Party also filed a lawsuit asking the Supreme Court to delay the
runoff, citing the incapability to campaign for a second round.
This was the country's third proposition in two months to
elect a new president and resolve the political crisis caused after the
toppling of their first freely-elected leader nearly two years back.
Fewer turnouts of voters
Voter turnout on Saturday showed out to be less than a
earlier vote in September, the result of which was invalid by the Supreme
Court. Around 240,000 people were eligible to vote.
The Indian Ocean archipelago, a popular tourist
destination, has been the focus of intense diplomatic pressure since last the results
of last polls cancelled.
A previous round of elections scheduled for October 19
was abandoned by police saying that the same two candidates, Yameen and
Ibrahim, had not approved the electoral roll and therefore the ballot could not
go ahead.
Western and Asian diplomats closely following Saturday's
vote said it went out well without any incidents, but they feared there could
occur some during the Sunday's run-off if no candidate gains majority.
Saturday's vote seemed to be a repeat of the September 7
vote which was abolished by the court following accusations that faulty voter
lists had been used, even though international observers had given it a clean
chit.
In that election, Nasheed had secured 45 percent of the
vote, which was not enough to win in the first round. Yameen had 25 percent and
Ibrahim 24 percent.
Outgoing President Mohamed Waheed, who is not contesting,
got five percent of the vote in September.
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