MALE, Maldives: Opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed topped Saturday’s bitterly-contested presidential elections, but failed to secure an outright majority to avoid a run-off, official results showed.
Nasheed received 45.08 percent of the popular vote and is set for a run-off with Abdulla Yameen, the half brother of former autocrat, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who garnered 31.21 percent of the vote.
The official count showed that a further 3.4 percent of the vote was yet to be declared, but even if all of it went to Nasheed he was still short of the 50 percent needed to win outright to avoid a run-off scheduled for Sunday.
His closest rival, Abdulla Yameen, the half brother of former autocrat Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, garnered 31.34 percent of the vote with third candidate and business tycoon Qasim Ibrahim trailing with 23.72 percent.
The Elections Commission (EC) said it expected final results around midnight.
If no candidate wins an outright majority, the EC has said there will be a run-off election on Sunday.
However, there were doubts over the second round with chief elections commissioner Fuwad Thowfeek saying that the second and third placed candidates were yet to endorse voter lists for Sunday’s vote, a requirement ordered by the Supreme Court.
A previous round of elections scheduled for Oct. 19 was scuttled 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 monitoring Saturday’s vote said it had gone off well without any incidents, but they feared there could be obstacles for Sunday’s run-off if no one gets a majority.
Saturday’s vote appeared to be a repeat of the September 7 vote which was annulled by the Supreme Court following allegations that flawed voter lists had been used, although international observers gave it a clean chit.
In that election, Nasheed had secured 45 percent of the vote, but not enough to win in the first round. Yameen had 25 percent and Ibrahim 24 percent. Outgoing President Mohamed Waheed, who is not contesting Saturday, got five percent of the vote in September.
The two other candidates, Abdulla Yameen and Qasim Ibrahim, were yet to approve voter lists, a requirement by the Supreme Court for a run-off to take place, he said, threatening a constitutional crisis.
Under the constitution, a new president must be sworn in by Monday in the Sunni Muslim nation of 350,000.
The Maldives, whose turquoise seas and white beaches have long been a tourist draw, has been the focus of intense US-led diplomatic pressure since judges annulled results of a Sept. 7 vote.
When new polls were scuppered six weeks later, suspicions grew that authorities were determined to prevent Nasheed from returning to power at any price.
The 46-year-old — a one-time political prisoner and environmental activist — won the first multi-party elections in 2008, ending 30 years of iron-fisted rule by Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.
But after clashing with key institutions, including the judiciary and security forces, he was forced to resign in February 2012.
Nasheed is expected to emerge victorious, having secured a clear lead over his two challengers in the September 7 vote, even though he fell just short of the absolute majority needed to win in the first round.
The Supreme Court annulled the September results, saying voter lists were flawed even though international observers gave the outcome the all-clear.
On Saturday, the MDP said there were no issues with voter lists except for spelling mistakes that authorities corrected.