Maldivian presidential election, 1978

Maldives
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Presidential elections were held in the Maldives on 28 July 1978. The election took the form of a referendum on the candidacy of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom,^[1] who was elected with 92.96% of the vote.

Background

Ibrahim Nasir had been elected President in 1973. Two years later he deposed Prime Minister Ahmed Zaki, who was seen as a threat due to his popularity, in a bloodless coup and banished him to a remote island.^[2]

The islands had begun to suffer economic problems during the 1970s, following the collapse of the Sri Lankan market for dried fish, the islands' main export, and the closure of the British air base RAF Gan. As a result, the Nasir regime began to lose popularity, and in 1978 he fled to Singapore, with a subsequent investigation revealing that he had taken with him several million dollars from the national treasury.^[2]

Results

References

Elections and referendums in the Maldives
Presidential elections	1952 1968 1973 1978 1983 1988 1993 1998 2003 2008 2013
Parliamentary elections	1975 1979 1984 1989 1994 1999 2005 2009 2014
Referendums	1952 1953 1959 1968 2007