Colombo, Sept 25: Maldives President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom won a landslide in Parliament today that is likely to give him a sixth five-year term leading the most expensive tourist destination in the Indian Ocean. Maldivian parliamentary speaker Abdullah Hameed said all 50 members of the Majlis, or Parliament, voted for Gayoom, one of four candidates standing for the presidency.
With the main parliament vote cleared, Gayoom will have to seek public ratification of his election at a nation-wide referendum by mid October to start his new term from November 11, according to the constitution.
The Majlis, which consists of eight members appointed by Gayoom, used a secret ballot to choose who was to lead the atoll nation of 1,192 coral islands scattered across the equator.
Maldives Foreign Minister Fathullah Jameel was the first to cast his ballot at the Majlis, with the proceedings shown live on national television.
Government sources in the Maldives contacted by telephone before the vote said Gayoom, 64, was expected to sweep the election as there was no serious challenger to the veteran leader.
The latest vote comes against a backdrop of unprecedented civil unrest in the capital island male, where mobs at the weekend torched state buildings following the killing of two prisoners by the country's National Security Service (NSS).
Gayoom has ordered the arrest of 11 NSS men following the prison riot, which left three dead and many more wounded.
Bureau Report