MALE // The first democratically elected president of the Maldives, who was overthrown last year in what he called a coup, will face a run-off against the brother of the country's former dictator.
Mohammed Nasheed received 45 per cent of Saturday's vote. He could still see a challenge in securing a second-round majority if his three election opponents form an alliance for the September 28 run-off.
Mr Nasheed - who in 2008 won the country's first multiparty election after 30 years of autocracy - needed at least 50 per cent in the first round to avoid the run-off against Yaamin Abdul Qayyoom, a brother of the Maldives' former autocrat, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
Mr Nasheed's Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said it "preferred" an outright victory on Saturday, but was prepared to face the next round of balloting even as parties scrambled to form new coalitions.
"Of course we preferred a victory in the first round, but we are very confident of winning the next round," said an MDP Youth Wing leader, Shauna Aminath. "The results show that we doubled our vote base compared to 2008 and we are the largest, strongest party in the country."
Mr Qayyoom polled 25 per cent yesterday, while the businessman Qasim Ibrahim was a close third with 24 per cent and the incumbent president, Mohamed Waheed Hassan, ended with 5 per cent, according to elections commission results released yesterday.
The Indian Ocean islands nation, known for its upmarket beach resorts, has been in political turmoil since Mr Nasheed resigned last year after weeks of public protests and slipping support from the military and police. He later said he was forced to resign at gunpoint by mutinying security forces and politicians backed by the country's former autocrat.
Though a domestic commission of inquiry threw out his claim, Mr Nasheed has repeatedly dismissed as illegal the government of his former vice president - Mr Hassan.
Despite winning the most first-round votes on Saturday, Mr Nasheed may still face a battle getting over the finish line as the third- and fourth-place finishers were also his bitter critics and probably will throw their support behind Mr Gayoom.
More than 211,000 of the Maldives' 240,000 eligible voters turned out on Saturday, hoping to end the political instability and answer questions about their government's legitimacy.
"The ruling government came (to power) not in a very good manner," Ahmed Ilyas, 37, a port employee, said after voting. "Hopefully, after the election the international community and the locals will fully cooperate with the government."
Transparency Maldives, an independent election monitor said, apart from minor complaints of violence, the election was free and peaceful.
Mr Nasheed's social programmes, eye for a political stunt and international work to highlight climate change earned him many fans while in office, but he was not universally popular.
After growing frustrated with the judiciary, he sent the army to arrest the head of the criminal court, which led to a pending criminal charge that he abused his powers while in office.
His work to increase taxes and introduce budget guesthouses also earned him enemies among the powerful tycoons who run the conutry's tourism industry, while he is seen by some as being too eager to please in India.
* Associated Press with additional reporting by Agence France-Presse
