The Guardian (UK) yesterday commented on the election in the Maldives. Excerpts:
It sounds too good to be true. A human rights campaigner, who bears the injuries of the torture he received in jail, topples Asia’s longest-serving despot in a democratic election. But it has just happened in the tropical Indian Ocean archipelago of the Maldives. The election of Mohamed “Anni” Nasheed, a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience, had people dancing in the streets of the island’s capital, Malé, yesterday. The president-elect said he would not pursue criminal charges against Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, the strongman he defeated, but would instead arrange a pension and security for him.
This is a good start, but the charismatic former opposition leader will soon face other tests. Nasheed campaigned for a stronger Parliament with the ability to check presidential powers and block appointments to the Cabinet. As president, it will be up to him to make this system work. Autocracy brought wealth to the atolls but also glaring inequalities. Nearly a third of children are malnourished and the archipelago has a big drug problem. It also faces rising sea levels. The IMF is urging a cut in public spending and Nasheed inherits an economy which earns 28 percent of its income from tourism, a sure casualty of the global downturn. His honeymoon will not last long.
