Maldives election commission confirms opposition victory

The Maldives’ election commission has released the final results of this month’s presidential election, confirming the victory of longtime lawmaker Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.

The results released on Saturday showed that Solih received 58.4 per cent of the votes cast in the September 23 election.

The commission had already released provisional results. According to the election law, the commission must release the official results within seven days of the election.

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The election outcome surprised many, given opposition warnings that the voting could be rigged by strongman President Yameen Abdul Gayoom, who lost to Solih.

Since getting elected in 2013, Yameen had cracked down on political dissent, jailing rivals including his half-brother and the Maldives’ first democratically elected president and Supreme Court justices.