Maldives strongman loses

Colombo, September 24

The strongman President of the Maldives on Monday conceded defeat in elections, easing fears of a fresh political crisis in the archipelago at the centre of a battle for influence between India and China.

“I have accepted the results,” Abdulla Yameen said in an address to the Indian Ocean nation after the joint Opposition candidate unexpectedly triumphed.

“I met with Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who the electorate has chosen to be their next President. I have congratulated him,” Yameen said.

There had been concerns  that Yameen might not accept the outcome. He had borrowed hundreds of millions of dollars from China for an infrastructure blitz, to the alarm of Maldives’ traditional backer India. In the last election in 2013, the Supreme Court annulled the result after Yameen trailed former President Mohamed Nasheed, giving Yameen time to forge alliances and win a second round of voting that was postponed twice.

Results from Sunday’s election showed Yameen on 41.7 per cent of the vote, well behind Solih on 58.3 per cent — the only other name on ballot papers. The official result will take up to a week.

The result was a major surprise, with Yameen’s main political rivals either in prison or in exile, media coverage of the Opposition sparse and monitors and the Opposition predicting the vote would be rigged. Nearly 90 per cent of the 262,000 electorate had turned out to vote. — AFP

New Delhi relieved

New Delhi: Relieved at the result, the Indian government said the “election marks not only the triumph of democratic forces in the Maldives, but also reflects the firm commitment to the values of democracy and rule of law. In keeping with ‘Neighbourhood First’ Policy, India looks forward to working closely with Maldives in further deepening our partnership”. Later, PM Narendra Modi called up Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to congratulate him on his victory. TNS