Male, Aug 19 (IANS) Maldives is headed towards a presidential system of government, early trends of results of Saturday’s historic referendum in the Indian Ocean nation show.
Over 62,700 votes have gone in favour of a presidential system as against around 31,300 votes for a Westminster-style multiparty democracy, according to trends available at 9.30 a.m. India time Sunday.
Over 150,000 of the 370,000 citizens were eligible to vote in the referendum, held as a run-up to the multiparty elections to be held before November next year. There are over 9,000 non-resident Indians in this South Asian archipelago.
According to reports, the government’s Dhivehi Raiyyathunge Party (DRP) while confident that the presidential system will prevail is still waiting to make a statement as results from the capital Male are yet to be declared.
“I think we have enough support to win now, the margin is more than 50 percent,” DRP party coordinator Ibrahim Shafiu told online newspaper Minivan News.
“As long as we claim something in Male, we’ll be fine and we are expecting it to be a close call.”
None of the results for the 88 boxes placed in the capital Malé have yet been announced.
Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Asia’s longest serving leader, has been ruling the Indian Ocean atoll nation for nearly three decades.
Gayoom wants a presidential system of government, akin to the US, with a two five-year term limit on the presidency.
However, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) says the only way to a clean and accountable government is to introduce a multi-party political system with a prime minister answerable to parliament.
According to Minivan News, supporters of MDP believe the election commissioner is holding back strong parliamentary results and that the referendum has been rigged.
MDP chairman Mohammad Nasheed, popularly known as Anni, was quoted as saying, “There have been enough irregularities for us to know this is rigged”, but added that his party would nevertheless “carry on with the process”.
The referendum is designed to attract more Western aid to the nation, known for its pristine beaches and coral reefs, and is being closely watched by Britain, the country’s largest foreign donor.
As of now, the Maldives is a presidential republic, whereby the president is the head of the government. The president heads the executive branch and appoints the cabinet.
The president is nominated to a five-year term by a secret ballot of the parliament called Majlis, a nomination confirmed by national referendum.
Gayoom unveiled an ambitious package of political reforms in 2005, which is designed to bring “liberal, modern democracy” to the island nation.
In July 2005, six months after the last elections in the country, political parties were introduced for the first time. Over 35 members of parliament joined the Dhivehi Raiyyathunge Party (Maldivian People’s Party) and elected Gayoom as its leader. Twelve members joined the opposition MDP. Two members remained independent.
In March 2006, Gayoom published a detailed roadmap for the reforms agenda, providing time bound measures to write a new constitution and to modernise the legal framework.
According to reports, Gayoom plans to stand in the multiparty elections scheduled for 2008 and then retire from active politics in 2010.