Gayoom goes gracefully

FORMER political prisoner Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed (41) routed Asia's longest serving leader, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom (71), in the Maldives' first democratic presidential election. Gayoom has been defeated by a human rights campaigner who was thrown in jail by him. Nasheed was a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience.
Nasheed received about 54.21% of the votes compared to 45.79% for Gayoom, the election commission declared after the final tally of Monday's run-off following the October 8 first round. He had a huge 15,000-vote lead and voter turnout was 85% of the 209,000 electorate, the same as the first round.
Nasheed picked up 97,222 votes while Gayoom managed 82,121. The elections were the climax of an effort to bring political freedom to the Indian Ocean archipelago in the wake of pro-democracy movements and international pressure.
European Union observers and several local and international organisations monitored the voting. They noted that the first and second rounds went off reasonably well. The result showed that the opposition had united to oust Gayoom with most younger voters demanding a change.
A formal announcement of the winner could take days, an official said, adding that the new president must be inaugurated by November 11.
President Gayoom ruled the country from 1978, bringing prosperity to the islanders. It is interesting that Nasheed was only 11 years old when the president assumed his power in 1978.
The per capita income of the Maldives people is around $5,000, the highest in South Asia. But opposition parties say prosperity came to the islanders at the expense of democracy. For the president, it must have been a shock as he garnered 41% of the votes in the first round as against 25% by Nasheed.
However, President Gayoom was gracious enough to accept the defeat and assured Nasheed of a smooth transition. This gesture from the president demonstrated his democratic spirit, rarely found in defeated candidates among developing countries.
Nasheed also assured Gayoom that he would be provided all facilities to live peacefully in the country.

Why did the president lose the election?
There are many reasons for the president's defeat, some of which are given below:

• The president ruled for 30 years, winning six straight elections in which he was the only candidate, but was removed the first time Maldivians were allowed to vote for somebody else. The people wanted a change.
• Although he was responsible for turning an impoverished fishing nation into an upmarket tourist destination, he ruled the country with an iron hand without tolerating opposition to his rule. As the saying goes "Man does not live for bread alone," which means that prosperity without freedom does not satisfy human beings, who are social animals. They have a yearning for freedom and choices.
• During the second round, supporters of other opposition candidates rallied around Nasheed.
• The prosperity that came to the Maldives was concentrated in only 40% of the population, while 60% remained poor. Nasheed promised to lift the standard of living of the poorest citizens, and one of his vows was to turn the presidential palace into the country's first university.
• Nasheed's election campaign was smart and well-organised, and kept harping on a change of leaders to suit the needs of the 21st century. This slogan of "change" resonated well with the voters.

Observers believe that an Australian campaign strategist, James McGrath (34), who worked for the British Conservative Party had run the campaign strategy for Nasheed as a volunteer since August. As Nasheed's campaign gained momentum the government attacked McGrath, portraying him as an outsider who was trying to introduce Christianity in the Maldives. The attack was counter-productive.

Brief profile of the country
The Maldives, officially the Republic of Maldives, is an island nation consisting of a group of atolls stretching south of India's Lakshadweep islands between the Minicoy and the Chargos archipelagoes, and south-west of Sri Lanka in the Laccadive Sea of Indian Ocean. It is a nation of about 400,000 people, most of whom are Muslims.
The Maldives was a British protectorate under a Sultan. After independence, in 1965, the sultanate continued for another three years under King Muhammad Fareed.
In 1968, the monarchy was abolished and replaced by a republic, Gayoom became the president in 1978.
In November 1988, a group of Maldivians headed by Lutfee, a small time businessman, used Tamil mercenaries from Sri Lanka to stage a coup against President Gayoom.
After an appeal by the Maldivian government for help, the Indian military intervened in order to reinstate Gayoom to power. In 1988, the Indian Air Force airlifted a parachute battalion group and flew them to the Maldives.
They helped to restore the Gayoom government at Malé within hours.
In 2004, the Maldives was devastated by a tsunami following an earthquake in the Indian Ocean. The total damage was estimated at over $400 million, or some 62% of the GDP. 108 people, including six foreigners, reportedly died in the tsunami.
The existence of the Maldives is threatened by sea water rise due to global warming. The president-elect, Nasheed, promised during the election campaign that his government would buy land in Sri Lanka and India to resettle the population if the inhabited islands of the country were submerged.
Today, the Maldives' largest industry is tourism, which accounts for 28% of GDP and more than 60% of the Maldives' foreign exchange receipts. Over 90% of government tax revenue comes from import duties and tourism-related taxes.
Fishing is the second largest sector. Agriculture and manufacturing play a lesser role in the economy, constrained by the limited availability of cultivable land and the shortage of domestic labour.
Most staple foods have to be imported. Industry, which consists mainly of garment production, boat building, and handicrafts, accounts for about 7% of GDP.
Bangladesh and the Maldives have excellent diplomatic relations. Both countries have resident high commissioners (ambassadors) in each country. About 70,000 Bangladeshi nationals, mostly unskilled, have been working in different sectors in the country. The number may increase in the years to come. There is a direct flight from Dhaka to Male.
It has been amazing to see a president who imprisoned his democratic opponent actually being defeated by that former prisoner, and accepting the defeat calmly and with dignity. Analysts say that it does not get much better in politics.
The people of the Maldives and political leaders have shown their spirit of tolerance and accommodation in the process and outcome of the presidential election, and they deserve congratulations and admiration.

Barrister Harun ur Rashid is a former Bangladesh Ambassador to the UN, Geneva.