Maldives: elections are held

Police arrested 20 opposition party supporters during the Maldives' &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/usa/2002/03/13/26952.html ' target=_blank>parliamentary election Saturday, a vote critics denounced as rigged, accusing the government of linking aid for &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/science/19/94/379/14844_tsunami.html ' target=_blank>tsunami survivors to favorable votes. The archipelago nation held the elections three weeks late, a postponement caused by the Dec. 26 tsunami, which killed at least 82 people in the &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/366/14771_tsunami.html ' target=_blank>Maldives and crushed homes and businesses nationwide. In the absence of a multiparty system, nearly 150 individual candidates contested the vote for parliament's 42 seats in the island chain, where the president, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, has ruled with an iron first since 1978. Government spokesman Mohamed Shareef said the detainees were supporters of the exiled opposition Maldives Democratic Party who tried to take a videocamera into a polling booth in violation of election rules. Voters in the Maldives have cast their ballots in a general election postponed as a result of last month's tsunami. No political parties are allowed and nearly 150 candidates stood as independents for the 42-seat assembly. Reformist candidates have complained of irregularities, including allegations that the government threatened voters with withholding reconstruction aid, tells BBC News.

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