Yameen to be sworn in as Maldivian President

Abdulla Yameen will be sworn in as the new president of the Maldives today after he secured a surprise victory in the controversy-ridden presidential poll.
54-year-old Yameen, an economist and a candidate of Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), won the presidential run-off yesterday by receiving 51.39 per cent of the votes over opposition leader and former president Mohammed Nasheed who garnered 48.61 per cent of the votes.
He will be sworn in along with his running mate Mohamed Jameel Ahmed at Parliament secretariat in Dharubaaruge.
Earlier, Elections Commission announced the official results of the presidential runoff, confirming Yameen, the half-brother of former autocratic ruler Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, as the president elect.

During a press conference, elections commissioner Fuad Thowfeek announced that Yameen garnered 111,203 votes and Nasheed received 105,181 votes.
According to Fuad, the voter turnout for the run-off was 91.41 per cent with 218,621 people voting in yesterday's polls.

After the results were declared, Yameen said the country desperately needed stability and hoped his opponents would cooperate.
"The country needs stability," Yameen told reporters. "I hope we will receive the necessary cooperation from Nasheed through parliament."
"Instead of confronting political leaders, we will confront the big challenges facing our country," he said.
Nasheed conceded defeat after a bitterly fought battle and said he was pleased that the country finally had a democratically elected leader.

"The MDP (Maldives Democratic Party) has always asked for a government elected by the people," Nasheed told reporters.
"Today is a happy day for the Maldives -- we now have an elected government."
Nasheed, who led the first round of presidential elections, has claimed he was toppled in a February 2012 coup triggered by a police mutiny and months of public protests, Haveeru news reported.