MALDIVES STRONGMAN ADMITS DEFEAT
Move eases fears of fresh crisis in island archipelago
THE strongman president of the Maldives yesterday conceded defeat in elections, easing fears of a crisis in the archipelago at the centre of a battle for influence between India and China.
“The Maldivian people have decided what they want. I have accepted the results from yesterday,” Abdulla Yameen said in a televised address a day after the joint opposition candidate unexpectedly triumphed.
“Earlier today, I met Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who the electorate has chosen to be their next president. I have congratulated him,” Yameen said.
He said he would remain in office till Nov 17, when his five-year term ends, but would allow a smooth transition.
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 the Maldives’ traditional backer India.
Results from Sunday’s election released by the electoral commission 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 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.
Yameen stayed quiet overnight after the outcome became clear. But signs grew yesterday that he would throw in the towel, with a Foreign Ministry statement saying Solih had won and state media showing him claiming victory. Nearly 90 per cent of the 262,000 electorate turned out to vote.
Celebrations broke out across the 1,200-island archipelago, with opposition supporters waving yellow flags of Solih’s Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and dancing in the streets.
Regional superpower India, competing with China to retain influence in the region, was the first to “heartily congratulate” Solih. Sri Lanka, home to many Maldivian dissidents, also congratulated him, but China has yet to comment, with yesterday being a public holiday.