Voting begins in Maldives presidential election

People in the Maldives are heading to the polling stations to choose a new president, in an election that critics claim is effectively a one-man show.

More than a quarter of a million people are eligible to vote in the country of roughly 400,000 people, in around 400 polling booths set up across the archipelago for the Sunday election.

Incumbent Abdulla Yameen is running against the opposition’s joint candidate and long-time lawmaker, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

Critics claim Yameen has imprisoned or forced into exile all his main rivals.

“Maldives authorities have detained critics, muzzled the media, and misused the election commission to obstruct opposition candidates to ensure President Yameen a victory on election day,” said Human Rights Watch Asia associate director Patricia Gossman.

However, the election commission’s spokesman has rejected allegations of voter fraud.

Yameen’s half-brother, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, ruled the Maldives for three decades until the presidential election in 2008, which was won by Mohamed Nasheed.

Yameen came to power in 2013 by defeating Nasheed in an election that critics alleged had been rigged.

Nasheed was jailed on terrorism charges but was allowed to go to Britain for medical treatment in January 2016. He never returned.

The Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives is made up of 26 coral atolls and 1,192 islands.

SS