MALE – The six candidates vying for president in the Maldives archipelago's first-ever multiparty elections on Tuesday finished their campaigns, in a poll seen as a referendum on President's Maumoon Abdul Gayoom's 30 year-rule.

Asia's longest-serving leader is seeking a seventh term ruling the archipelago of 300,000 mostly Sunni Muslims, which in the past he has been accused of running like his own sultanate – a form of government abolished there in 1968.

The poll on Wednesday in the sleepy Maldives, best known as a tropical luxury hideaway for Hollywood stars, is a culmination of years of agitation for democratic reforms which Gayoom, 71, finally signed into law in August.

'No one thought we could have a multi-party election here, until we introduced the reform agenda,' Gayoom said at a news conference at which he denied rumors he had fled the island and a host of other allegations he said were political.

Despite some fears of rigging and minor threats against political figures earlier this week, the archipelago of 1,196 islands located 800 km (500 miles) off the tip of India was mostly calm when campaigning finished on Tuesday night.

Wednesday's election starts at 9 a.m. (0400 GMT) at nearly 400 polling stations spread out across the archipelago's 200 inhabited atolls and on some islands with luxury resorts.

Many Maldivians complain that a small political elite has grown rich from tourism, which is the linchpin of the $850 million economy and accounts for 28 percent of GDP.

Diplomats hope the poll will be an example of a peaceful and fair democratic election in a Muslim majority nation, with a correspondingly non-violent transition should power change hands.

'I am happy with anyone in charge. I will abide by the people's verdict,' Gayoom said.

The electoral commission says 209,000 people have registered to vote. Most Maldivians expect a runoff, with Gayoom and his longtime opposition nemesis Mohamed Nasheed tipped as favourites.

A runoff date will be announced if no candidate gets 50 percent of the vote.

Nasheed, known as Ani, has been charged dozens of times by Gayoom's government in what human rights watchdogs say are trumped-up cases, the latest of which was dropped just last month after prosecutors admitted a lack of evidence.

Gayoom garnered international criticism after a heavy-handed crackdown on pro-democracy protesters, which eventually led to his signing into law a new constitution last month that established an independent judiciary and electoral body.

It also abolished the old style of voting for president, where a parliament-approved candidate stood for a referendum. Those elections saw Gayoom returned to power six times with what he said was over 90 percent of the vote.

(Writing by Bryson Hull; Editing by Bill Tarrant)