Ibrahim Solih calls for smooth power transfer post-Yameen's defeat

Maldivian President-elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih welcomed the country's top court verdict to reject incumbent President Abdulla Yameen's plea to annul the elections that were held last month.

A five-judge bench of the court unanimously ruled that Yameen did not provide sufficient claims on concerns of vote rigging and electoral fraud in the presidential elections in September. The court also rejected Yameen's request to oversee a police investigation into the charges and said that there was no legal basis to hold a fresh election or a criminal investigation.

"After weeks of uncertainty, the Maldivian people can finally enjoy clarity regarding the outcome of the election. The petition to annul the election was frivolous from the start, and spoke more about an inability in some quarters to accept defeat, than any genuine concerns about the vote," Solih said in a statement on Sunday.

Solih added that after the judgement, the country can look forward to a smooth transition of power. He urged Yameen to "accept the will of the people and genuinely work towards facilitating the transition".

Solih further said, "It is imperative that the new administration delivers on the promises made during the election that we respect people's rights, consolidate democracy, uphold the Constitution and deliver peace and prosperity for all our citizens."

Yameen claimed that the country's election commission had deliberately used pens with disappearing ink and specially treated ballot papers that wiped off his votes.

In the hotly-contested presidential elections, held on September 23, Solih, then opposition Maldivian Democratic Party's candidate, emerged victorious by garnering 134,616 votes, while Yameen managed to get 96,132 votes only, in an outcome hailed as a win for democracy in the crisis-hit island nation.

While Yameen publicly accepted his defeat, he later filed a legal challenge with the Maldivian top court, alleging of irregularities in the voting process. With the verdict announced, Solih is set to take office as the new Maldivian president on November 17.