The Maldives’ President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has been declared the winner of a contentious presidential primary, but his rival has alleged voter fraud and has yet to concede the vote, heightening political uncertainty in the popular Indian Ocean tourist destination.
The governing Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) said on Sunday that Solih won the closely fought primary election with 61 percent of the vote and that his opponent Mohamed Nasheed had obtained 39 percent. The poll – held on Saturday – was tense with at least five people arrested for disrupting voting and brawls breaking out between rival factions at several polling stations.
