Maldives opposition candidate says he has won presidential election

Maldives opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who fought a bitter election campaign against President Abdulla Yameen, said that he had won Sunday’s presidential vote

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has declared victory in the Maldives’ presidential election Sunday, following a controversial campaign observers said was rigged in favour of strongman President Abdulla Yameen.

Maldivian joint opposition presidential candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih speaks to the media at the end of the presidential election day in Male, Maldives September 23, 2018. (REUTERS)

Solih had the backing of a united opposition trying to oust Yameen and triumphed despite struggling for visibility with the electorate, with local media fearful of falling foul of heavy-handed decrees and reporting restrictions.

“I call on Yameen to respect the will of the people and bring about a peaceful, smooth transfer of power,” Solih said on national television shortly after official results showed he had an unassailable 58 percent of the popular vote.

He also urged the incumbent to immediately release scores of political prisoners.

Yameen, who was widely tipped to retain power, had jailed or forced into exile almost all of his main rivals.

Before polls opened, police raided the campaign headquarters of the opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and searched the building for several hours in a bid to stop what they called “illegal activities”. There were no arrests.

Mohamed Nasheed, the head of Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party, said the vote would “bring the country back to the democratic path”.

Yameen would have no option but to concede defeat, said Nasheed, who was elected president of a newly-democratic Maldives in 2008 but currently lives in exile.

“He will not have people around him who will support him to fight on and stay,” he told AFP.