Maldives poll body confirms opposition victory in elections
Male, Sep 29 : The Election Commission of Maldives on Saturday confirmed the victory of opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in the nation's general election and defeat of incumbent President Abdulla Yameen.
Maldives Democratic Party's Solih got 134,705 votes (58.4 per cent) while Yameen, leader of the Progressive Party of Maldives, secured 96,052 votes (41 per cent), Election Commission President Ahmed Shareef said.
"We have announced official results after the bureau decided the complaints will not affect the results in anyway," Shareef said, adding that the results had been delayed as the complaint department had to analyze objections they had received by the ruling party.
The final results confirmed the provisional data released by the poll body after the Sunday elections, The Edition reported.
Prior to the final declaration by the poll body, Yameen accepted his defeat in a live television address. "I know that I have to step down now," said Yameen, who has ruled the country for the last five years amid accusations of authoritarianism.
Yameen's acceptance of the results surprised the opposition, which had been anticipating electoral fraud and a possible crackdown on its supporters. He had earlier asked the poll body to defer the announcement of the election results, according to reports.
Earlier this week, the opposition criticized alleged manoeuvres by Yameen to delay the announcement of results.
However, the Election Commission President had said that the results would not be delayed beyond Sunday and the police and Army promised to "defend the decision made by the people on September 23".
The third elections after the fall of the three-decade long rule of Maumoon Abdul Gayoom were marked by a grave constitutional crisis after Yameen cracked down on opposition leaders, arrested judges and declared a state of emergency earlier this year.
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Ruturaj scores unbeaten 67 as CSK beat MI by eight wickets
Chennai (PTI): Ruturaj Gaikwad struck his second successive half-century of the season as Chennai Super Kings cruised to a commanding eight-wicket win over Mumbai Indians in an Indian Premier League match here on Saturday.
Gaikwad remained unbeaten on 67 off 48 balls, stitching an unbroken 98-run stand for the third wicket with Kartik Sharma (54 not out) to comfortably chase down the target of 160 after Mumbai were stopped at 159 for seven.
Mumbai Indians' struggles continued as they only have two wins in nine matches, remaining on four points, while CSK climbed to eight points from nine games.
Earlier, MI's innings never quite gained momentum, with Naman Dhir the lone bright spot with a 57. He walked in after Will Jacks fell for one in the second over and added 40 runs for the third wicket with Suryakumar Yadav (21).
For CSK, left-arm spinner Noor Ahmad (2/26) was the pick of the bowlers, removing Ryan Rickelton (37) and Tilak Varma (5), while Anshul Kamboj (3/32) impressed with an effective spell.
Brief scores:
Mumbai Indians 159 for 7 in 20 overs (Ryan Rickelton 37, Naman Dhir 57; Noor Ahmed 2/26, Anshul Kamboj 3/32).
Chennai Super Kings: 160 for 2 in 18.1 overs (Ruturaj Gaikwad 67 not out, Urvil Patel 24, Kartik Sharma 54 not out; Jasprit Bumrah 1/20).
