By IANS,
Male : The Maldives’ Elections Commission Sunday confirmed Abdulla Yameen, candidate of the Progressive Party, as the new president of the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.
Mohammed Nasheed, former president and a contestant who was favoured to win, has at a press conference conceded his defeat.
The results of the second round of the presidential poll held Saturday were announced by Elections Commission president Fuad Thaufeeq at a press conference Sunday morning, Xinhua reported.
“According to the official results of this election, I hereby announce that the Progressive Party of Maldives’ presidential candidate Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom of Ma. Kaaminee Hulhanguge has been elected the president of the Maldives for the presidential term that began on 11 November 2013.”
The official results remained unchanged from the preliminary results announced around midnight.
Yameen won with a preliminary 51.6 percent of votes while his opponent, former president and candidate of the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), Mohamed Nasheed, garnered 105,181 votes, or 48.61 percent.
The voter turnout was 91.41 percent with 218,621 people voting out of the country’s 239,165 eligible voters.
Nasheed conceded his defeat at a press conference.
The president-elect is to be inaugurated later in the day, when he will also try to name his cabinet.