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MALE, Maldives — President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom promised Wednesday to ensure a smooth transition from his three-decade rule after a bitter political rival vanquished him in the Maldives’ first democratic election.
Gayoom, 71, and President- elect Mohamed Nasheed jointly addressed the nation after the results from Tuesday’s runoff election were announced. Nasheed, 41, is a former political prisoner.
Violent civil riots in 2003 and fierce global pressure pushed Gayoom, Asia’s longest-serving ruler — he took office in 1978 — to lift a ban on opposition parties, support a new constitution and commit to the nation’s first multiparty presidential election.
