17 August 2007
The Maldives is set for a referendum tomorrow on its political future, but diplomats and officials say the vote may also turn out to be an acid test for Asia's longest-serving ruler, reports Zeenews.com.
More than 150,000 Maldivians are eligible to vote to decide how they would like to be governed in the future.
They must choose between a Presidential system and a Westminster-type Parliamentary democracy, says the website.
President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has ruled the Maldives, South Asia's most expensive holiday destination, since 1978.
Political parties were allowed in the Maldives for the first time in June 2005 and Gayoom's critics want a greater voice to govern the 300,000 Sunni Muslims in the tiny archipelago in the Indian Ocean.
Gayoom's DRP, or Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party, wants a Presidential system of government.
However, Gayoom has proposed to limit the term of a new President to two five-year terms. He is already on his sixth straight term of office.
"We feel an executive Prime Minister-style government, with no time frame limited to be in office, goes against the rhythm of our country of limited population," DRP deputy leader, Ahmed Thasmeen Ali reportedly told Zeenews.com.
However, the main opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) is rooting for a multi-party system for the island chain that was a British protectorate until 1965.
Report: Velidhoo Community
Courtesy: Miadhu
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