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MALE : The Maldives voted Wednesday in its first multi-party presidential elections that could see Asia's longest-serving president ousted by a former political prisoner.
The polls on the Indian Ocean archipelago pitted Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, 71, the islands' president for the past 30 years, against five bitter rivals.
But the election -- a test for the Muslim nation's often tense transition to democracy -- was hit by allegations of rigging, with the main opposition party claiming large numbers of its members had been removed from the electoral roll.
"I'm getting complaints from all over the Maldives from our party members that their names are not on the electoral list," said Mariya Didi, chairwoman of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP).
The MDP's founder Mohamed "Anni" Nasheed -- one of the president's fiercest critics and a former Amnesty International prisoner of conscience -- is seen as Gayoom's strongest rival.
"We had high hopes for today," Didi said. "We hoped that once in our lifetime we could vote freely but today we are being denied our right to vote."
There was no immediate response from the ruling party whose senior members could be seen voting with no difficulties.
Election commission spokesman Mohammed Ibrahim Tolal said he was unaware of any complaints. Turnout appeared to be strong in Male, with large queues outside polling stations despite heavy rain.
The elections are the first in which Gayoom -- who has served six terms under a one-candidate system -- has had to face any serious competition.
Gayoom has built South Asia's richest nation, per capita, thanks to dozens of resorts on white sand beaches and crystal clear waters -- where hotels charge up to 15,000 dollars a night.
But the Maldives are suffering from increasing drug use, worsening crime and a chronic housing shortage in the cramped island capital Male.
The country suffered its first terror attack a year ago, with Islamic militants blamed for bombing a park in Male and wounding a dozen tourists.
The opposition says half the top government jobs are held by Gayoom's family and Anni has branded Gayoom as a "has-been sultan".
While opposition rallies have drawn large crowds in Male, Gayoom and his conservative Muslim platform appear to be well received on outlying atolls.
But security around him remains tight -- in January, one islander tried to stab him with a kitchen knife.
Gayoom says he can fight off any challenger and win more than 50 percent of the vote to avoid a run-off but with no reliable opinion polls, the outcome is seen as impossible to predict.
"I feel I must be at the helm to see through the reform programme," Gayoom told reporters in his final campaign appearance, positioning himself as a committed democrat rather than the Robert Mugabe-type politician his opponents portray him as.
"It is very wrong to compare me to those people," he said, promising to abide by the verdict of the people and bow out quietly should he lose.
He has accused his rivals of dirty tricks, taking out defamation cases against two opposition politicians who accused him of stealing 40 million dollars of tsunami aid and stashing away tens of millions more in a foreign bank account.
Other prominent opponents of the president include former attorney general Hassan Saeed and local business magnate Ghaseem Ibrahim.
In all, 208,000 people are eligible to vote. Polls opened at 9:00 am (0400 GMT) and close at 9:00 pm. Results are expected Thursday.
- AFP /ls
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