Maldives election begins amid opposition cry of unfairness
MALE, Maldives (AP) – Voting has started in the Maldives in a presidential election that is widely seen as a referendum on the island nation’s young democracy.
President Yameen Abdul Gayoom cast his ballot in the capital, Male, about 40 minutes after polls opened. Huge crowds flocked to closely guarded polling stations.
Gayoom has been criticized for cracking down on freedoms. He used his first term to consolidate power, jailing opponents, including his half brother, a former president, and two Supreme Court Justices, or forcing them into exile and asserting control over the courts.
A Maldivian election worker prepares poll material at the election commissioner’s office center in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. The country will hold its third-ever multiparty presidential election on Sunday. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Police raided the opposition presidential candidate’s main campaign office on Saturday evening, citing a warrant to search for evidence of vote-buying.
Members of the opposition decried the raid, saying the election could be rigged in favor of Gayoom.
Maldivian policeman stands guard in front of the building housing the election office of the opposition presidential candidate in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. Police raided the main campaign office of the opposition presidential candidate on Saturday, the eve of an election viewed as a referendum on whether democracy will survive in the country. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Maldivian policemen stand guard in front of the building housing the election office of the opposition presidential candidate in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. Maldives police say they have raided the main campaign office of opposition presidential candidate on eve of election. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
A Maldivian policeman stands guard in front of the building housing the election office of the opposition presidential candidate in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. Maldives police say they have raided the main campaign office of opposition presidential candidate on eve of election. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
Maldivian policemen stand guard in front of the building housing the election office of the opposition presidential candidate in Male, Maldives, Saturday, Sept. 22, 2018. Maldives police say they have raided the main campaign office of opposition presidential candidate on eve of election. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)
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