Maldives' supreme court upholds presidential election results

MALE -- The Supreme Court of the Maldives on Sunday upheld the results of last month's presidential election, after a case was filed by the ruling Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM), challenging the result of the polls.

Local media reported that a five-judge Supreme Court bench unanimously ruled that despite the concerns of vote rigging and electoral fraud raised by the PPM, the party had failed to provide sufficient evidence to back their claims.

The case was heard last week with the verdict announced on Sunday afternoon.

The elections commission last week had also dismissed the allegations raised by the PPM and stressed there were no irregularities or complaints that could affect the outcome of the election.

According to the official and final results released by the elections commission last month, opposition candidate Ibrahim Mohamed Solih had secured 134,705 votes in the presidential polls while incumbent president Yameen had secured 96,052 votes.

The new president is expected to be sworn in on Nov 17.