US hails Maldives on elections

Colombo, Oct 30 (IANS) The US has hailed the successful completion of the first multi-party elections in the Maldives, calling it “a historic milestone in the transition to political pluralism”.

“This election is the culmination of decades of effort, including four years of work to rewrite the Maldives constitution, introduce a multi-party system and conduct free and fair elections,” State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said in a statement put out by the US embassy here.

“The US commends President (Maumoon Abdul) Gayoom for bringing greater prosperity and democracy to the people of the Maldives. We congratulate President-elect Mohamed Nasheed on his victory and look forward to working together to maintain the strong friendship and cooperation between the Maldives and the US.”

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