Nasheed wins first round poll in Maldives,fails to get majority

Mohammed Nasheed failed to clinch an outright majority in the first round of the presidential re-vote in the Maldives.

In a repeat of the balloting in September,former President Mohammed Nasheed Saturday failed to clinch an outright majority in the first round of the presidential re-vote in the Maldives,setting up a run-off with runner-up Abdulla Yameen.

In the crucial vote,Maldivian Democratic Party MDP chief Nasheed bagged 46.3 per cent of the votes,a marginal increase from his previous tally of 45.45 per cent votes in the September 7 polls that were annulled by the Supreme Court.

All but two of the 475 ballot boxes had been counted till late Saturday night,Haveeru reported.

Progressive Party of Maldives PPM leader Abdullah Yameen made a significant gain of nearly five per cent over the 25.35 per cent of votes he secured in the annulled polls and managed 30.3 per cent of the votes Saturday.

Jumhooree Party JP leader and resort tycoon Gasim Ibrahim bagged 23.4 per cent of the votes as second runner up.

Nearly 2.03 lakh people or 85 per cent of the electorate exercised their franchise,as against the turnout of 88 per cent cast during the voting in September.

There was no clarity on the date for the run-off as Elections Commission President Fuwad Thaufeek told the media that two political parties PPM and JP were yet to endorse the voters list for the second round,making it difficult to hold it Sunday.

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Meanwhile,the Supreme Court Saturday settled speculation about an impending constitutional crisis as it ruled that incumbent President Mohammed Waheed will continue in office till his successor takes oath,media reported.

According to Haveeru newspaper,the court notified all state authorities that the current government will continue if a new administration is not in place by November 11.

The court also admitted a plea seeking deferment of the run-off.

President Waheeds term ends on November 11 and under the Constitution,his successor has to be in office by this deadline.

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The Election Commission had earlier scheduled the run-off for November 16,but brought it forward to Sunday to avoid a constitutional crisis.

Saturdays polls were the third attempt to elect a new President since September.

After casting his vote earlier today,Waheed said 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 theyve 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.