hISTORY eNDS EVERYWHERE:

Mohamed Nasheed, 51, made a dramatic return to the top of the national parliament, with his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) headed for a two-thirds majority in the 87-member assembly.

Mr Nasheed promised to use his party's mandate to usher in a new era of stability and democracy in the Indian Ocean archipelago as it emerges from years of strongman rule, political crises and corruption scandals miring the government and judiciary.

"Our foremost duty is to bring peace to the government", Mr Nasheed told supporters in the capital Male on Sunday. 

The comprehensive victory was another rebuke for Mr Nasheed's arch-rival and autocratic former president Abdulla Yameen, who was dumped in a shock election defeat in September under a cloud of corruption and embezzlement allegations.

Mr Yameen did not run, but his party - the Progressive Party of Maldives - ended with a poor showing and is projected to only secure four seats in the People's Majlis, or parliament.

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