Abdulla Yameen's Party Asks Maldives Poll Body to Delay Final Results, Stokes Fears of Bid to Stay in Power

Male: The party of defeated Maldives' president Abdulla Yameen has requested a delay in the publication of the final results for an election for which Yameen conceded defeat on Monday, Elections Commission chief Ahmed Shareef said on Wednesday.

"PPM (Progressive Party of Maldives) has raised some concerns and asked the commission to delay the announcement of the official results," Shareef told Reuters.

Shareef said the "lawful deadline" for issuing final results was Sunday and the Commission had not yet decided on the PPM's request.

"The Commission has not been briefed on the nature of the complaints yet, but there are allegations of fraud from what I understand," he said.

The country's opposition alliance said this was Yamin’s ploy to remain in power despite having conceded defeat in the presidential election earlier this week.

Joint opposition spokesman Ahmed Mahloof told The Associated Press Yameen is also trying to get police officers loyal to him to prepare intelligence reports saying the election was flawed. "It's serious. After conceding the election he is trying to play dirty," Mahloof said of Yameen.

Provisional results released Monday showed that joint opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih decisively defeated Yameen with about 58 percent of the vote in Sunday's election.

Presidential spokesman Ibrahim Hussain Shihab noted that Yameen had conceded the election in a speech Monday. He said Yameen accepted the results and pledged to ensure a smooth transition when his term ends Nov. 17. However, Shihab did not comment on whether Yameen's stand has changed since then.

The election outcome surprised many given opposition warnings that the voting could be rigged.

Maldives became a multiparty democracy in 2008 after decades of autocratic rule.

However, after Yameen became president in 2013 the country lost many of its democratic gains. He jailed almost all of his political opponents following allegedly flawed trials and forced some into exile. Yameen also consolidated power by exerting control over the courts, bureaucracy, police and the military.