'Election results were delivered without change' - Akram

Former Vice President of the Elections Commission, Ahmed Akram, has said the results of the 2018 Presidential Election were delivered as the people voted.

When former President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayyoom was defeated in the 2018 elections, he refused to accept the results and raised questions on the fairness of the vote. His party, the Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), carried out rallies to protest the results and directed serious allegations at the Elections Commission and its then President, Ahmed Shareef Adam.

Speaking at a rally held by the opposition on Friday night, Yameen reiterated the allegations. PPM has also called to re-investigate the alleged electoral fraud. On Saturday, statements said to be from the initial police investigation into the allegations were leaked - documents that the police deny are real.

In response to the allegations of electoral fraud, former commission member - who was later the commission's Vice President - Ahmed Akram said the results were delivered to the people without alteration, and as it was.

'I swear by Allah. The election results were delivered to the people without any alteration and as the people voted. Do not misuse your tongues and pens. Fear the punishment of Allah,' Akram wrote in a tweet.

During Friday night's rally, Yameen said heads of state entities knew how the 2018 election results were manipulated to ensure Yameen was defeated. He alleged that senior officers of the Maldives National Defense Force (MNDF) played a significant role in the manipulation. He went on to say that PPM would reveal the truth behind the election.

'How the government changed, how the election changed.. these are things that the heads of entities know. Today, they must answer to the citizens. With the will of Allah, when the tables are turned and PPM sits behind these desks, the truth will be revealed. The citizens will know the truth,' said Yameen.

Yameen said the efforts to steal the election began when it became evident that he would win the election. He went on to describe Shareef, who used to be a close aide of Yameen in the past, as a traitor and said his character became apparent in the 2018 election. He said the country's situation at this time is the direct result of election fraud and said those who orchestrated the deceit must be held answerable.

On Saturday, Shareef responded to Yameen's allegations in a tweet and said while a vote was taken and its results became clear, it was embarrassing that Yameen, a former president, would stand at podiums and talk 'senselessly' after refusing to accept defeat.