The current government of Maldives led by Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom has conceded defeat in light of the provisional results of the presidential polls announced by Elections Commission.
The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) candidate won 2018 presidential elections with 134,616 votes, almost 58% approval by the country's public, according to Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement.
Though the government have not announced an official congratulation or a statement of defeat by sitting president; it was clear that the incumbent administration conceded their loss on Sunday's polls by admitting the elections proceeded "smoothly, and peacefully, with no reported incidents. No major issues were reported in the vote counting process as well as with the voters list, which will affect the results."
A total of 262,135 locals were eligible to vote out of which 233,877 cast their votes at the 472 ballot boxes stationed across Maldives and in four countries abroad.
The voter turn-out for the 2018 presidential election reached 89.22% according to Foreign Ministry's statement; making it the highest in recent presidential elections.
The Maldives presidential election attracted much of the international eyes; who closely followed the event as the polls was considered more of a referendum for the country.
The election was observed by 2,610 local observers and international observers from 11 different agencies and 3,329 local monitors and some international monitors were active during the polls, including 945 representatives of candidates.
Following the provisional result; guaranteeing the easy course of win for Ibrahim Mohamed Solih he urged the incumbent President Abdulla Yameen for a smooth transfer of power and jailed political leaders.
Speaking to reporters early Monday, Solih thanked the four jailed leaders including former presidents Mohamed Nasheed and Maumoon Abdul Gayoom for their support in securing victory.
Throughout Sunday, Solih maintained a healthy lead but pulled well clear as Yameen lost key electorates despite significant pledges of development in the next five years.
While the opposition is celebrating the victory in the elections, ruling party candidate Abdulla Yameen who lagged behind by roughly 35,000 or more votes mustered 96,132 votes in the election.
Meanwhile reports confirm the sitting president has invited the presidential polls winner to the top-office on Monday afternoon to discuss matters relating to the transition of powers from Yameen's administration to Solih's new governance.
