MALE, Nov. 11 Mohamed Nasheed (Anni) was sworn in as the Maldives' 4th president Tuesday morning
and he vowed to serve with sincerity, compassion and fulfill his electoral pledges.
Anni was sworn in by Chief Justice Abdulla Saeed in Male with the attendance of Sri Lankan President
Mahinda Rajapakse and some other 1,000 guests.
In his address delivered after taking oath, Anni vowed to "set up a government of the people" and
"serve with sincerity, in good faith and with compassion."
He also stressed that his government will deliver their electoral pledges including more houses,
better medical treatment and banning illegal drugs.
"The people need to be freed from being confined to their islands due to lack of transport, their
cost of living needs to be brought down, their worries for adequate shelter needs alleviation, having to seek sponsorship
for medical treatment must stop, and the entry of drugs in the country should be barred," said Anni.
Anni also praised the democratic transition in the Maldives peaked by the first multi-party presidential
elections held last month, saying that "the time has come for the people to realize their long-cherished dreams."
The 41-year-old former prisoner beat Maumoon Abdul Gayoom in the run-off round of presidential
elections held on Oct. 28 by winning 54.21 percent of the votes while Gayoom won 45.79 percent.
Anni ran for the presidency as the candidate of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) while Gayoom
represented the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP or the Maldivian People's Party) to contend the presidency.
"It is rare, certainly in recent times, for a people to achieve democratic transition as smoothly
and as peacefully as has been done in the Maldives," said Anni.
The oath-taking ceremony officially ended three decades of power by Gayoom, who was elected to
the presidency in 1978 and served six terms.
In a joint press conference held at the president's office on Monday, Gayoom congratulated Anni
and offered him assistance in the future, Anni wished Gayoom future "success", saying he would accept the offer of advice.
Nasheed was born in 1967 and majored in Maritime Studies in Liverpool University of Britain. He
was the co-founder of the MDP, which was registered as a political party in the Maldives in June 2005.
Nasheed is regarded as an outspoken critic of former President Gayoom and has been in jail for
several times, once being held for three straight years.
The Maldives is composed of 1,192 small coral islands scattered across the equator. About 200 islands
are inhabited, while about 85 islands have been developed into resorts.
Powered by tourism and fishing, the archipelago's GDP per capita income is now about 2,500 dollars,
the highest among South Asian nations.
The 850 million-U.S.-dollar economy grew by 7.6 percent in 2007and the former government expected
the economy to grow by 8.3 percent for 2008.