Maldivians elect a democracy activist as the next president

New Delhi, Oct 29 (EFE). - The Maldivians have voted for change and awarded victory to the opposition Mohamed Nasheed in the first multiparty presidential elections, which Maumoon Abdul Gayoom expelled from power after 30 years, according to data released today by the Electoral Commission.
With all votes counted, Gayoom won the 45.79 percent of the vote, against 54.21 percent for his rival, pro-democracy activist Nasheed, as the provisional count collected on the website of the Electoral Commission.
The winner, 41, appeared at the head of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and has a long history of struggle for democracy in the Indian Archipelago, to the point that he has been imprisoned several times for his political .
"We ended the autocracy and now have to work for democracy. We have all and there are no conflicts on our part. We want peaceful change and without discrimination, "he told Efe by telephone from Male MDP spokesman Mohamed Zahir.
Nasheed is the first president left multiparty elections in the Indian Ocean archipelago consisting of some 1,200 islands and ruled by Gayoom, 70, since 1978.
He had resorted to constitutional amendments and referendums to perpetuate personal power, but in recent years was forced to reform the system and open to multiparty democracy.
"Dear citizens of the Maldives, I accept the election results of October 28 and respectfully congratulate Mohamed Nasheed and his party," Gayoom said in an interview with radio station Voice of Maldives, Maldivian collected by the website "Minivan News" .
"I offer (a Nasheed) my support during the transition, as stipulated in the Constitution (...) I am proud of my role in the introduction of a new era of democracy," he added, after thanking the public for giving the "opportunity" to lead the country in recent decades.
The outgoing president had been imposed in the first round, on day 8, with 40.63 percent of the vote, below the 50 percent needed for victory.
Nasheed was in second with 25.09 percent, although later three of the four candidates were discarded in the first round gave him their support for the second.
According to data from the Electoral Commission, the 86.58 percent of voters came to the polls to cast their vote yesterday on a total of 209,294 citizens eligible to vote.
Tuesday's elections passed with less disruption than the first round, dotted with allegations of irregularities and even a request to suspend the voting.
"The process has been a triumph of democracy and good that there is a renewal. The elections were a range of cleaning and incidents have been irrelevant, "he told Efe by phone a Western diplomatic source.
After the first results, supporters of Nasheed (better known as "Anni"), took to the streets of the capital to celebrate the victory of their leader and claim their slogan, "other Maldives".
During his activism against the regime of Gayoom, Nasheed was jailed several times and came to be considered by Amnesty International as a "prisoner of conscience."
His electoral victory is the culmination of their struggle for establishing democracy after his activism as a journalist in the 1990s and the creation of his political education, in 2005, shortly after the legalization of political parties.
An engineer by training, a married father of two daughters, Nasheed has promised to end corruption, reduce the cost of living, developing the health system and turn the presidential palace in the first university Gayoom of the Maldives.
The president's inauguration is scheduled for November 11.

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