Published on Thu, Oct 30, 2008 at 12:05, Updated on Thu, Oct 30, 2008 at 01:10 in World section
Tags: Maldives, Presidential Elections , New Delhi
BE THE CHANGE: Mohammed Nasheed (R) will replace Mamoon Abdul Gayoom as Maldives' president.
New Delhi: Asia's longest ruling dictator has conceded defeat and decided to hand over power to a former Amnesty International "prisoner of conscience" in the world's most popular honeymoon destination.
Mohammed Nasheed will replace Mamoon Abdul Gayoom, after sweeping to victory in the Maldives’ first democratic presidential run-off on Wednesday morning.
Nasheed won 54 per cent of the votes. Gayoom was forced into a run-off after he failed to win 50 per cent of the votes in first ever democratic elections earlier this month
"This acceptance of the results by the President is an example of democracy," Nasheed said.
Gayoom won election after election since 1978 with more than 90 per cent of the votes for six terms, in 'yes or no' referendums, where no opposition party was allowed to contest.
This time, they were not in a mood to shake his hand any more.
Nasheed, popularly known as Anni, is the country's most famous political activist. He formed Maldives’ main opposition party, the Maldivian Democratic Party while in exile – he not only inherits one of the most beautiful and lucrative tourist destinations in the world but also the challenges that face an archipelago where nearly half of Maldivians live in poverty, where drug misuse and Islamic fundamentalism are also on the rise.
Democracy has trumped the despot and India, who has always supported the dictator now needs to change its approach to deal with democracy and its new leaders in the strategically placed islands in Indian Ocean.
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