Solih wins 2018 presidential election

Ibrahim Mohamed Solih has won the 2018 presidential election.

The vote results show that the opposition coalition candidate beat President Abdulla Yameen by around 16 points.

President Abdulla Yameen won the 2013 election with backing from his half-brother, former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom.

During his five-year term, President Yameen had jailed all his political rivals and some ministers, as well as his family members, which includes 80-year-old President Maumoon.

Many believe that it was his oppressive and the allegations of corruption against him that had led to him losing in this year’s election.

The results on Sunday showed that Solih won with 58 percent, which is the highest any presidential candidate has received in a presidential candidate in the country. Once in office, he will become the first Maldives President that is not native to the capital city, Male’.

While presidential terms usually end on November 11, President Yameen’s term will end on November 17, the same day Solih and his running mate Faisal Naseem will take their oath of office. This is because three rounds of voting were held in the 2013 election.

How did Solih get the presidential ticket?

Prominent political parties allied together against President Yameen and decided to back a common candidate for this year’s election. After the decision, Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the main opposition party, chose its leader and former president Mohamed Nasheed for candidacy. However, due to the fear that authorities will not allow him to contest the election due to his 13-year prison sentence, Solih was chosen as their candidate at the MDP congress.

Faisal was elected by Jumhooree Party (JP) as the vice-presidential candidate in their primary election.

Tyranny and Progress

Even before getting elected, President Yameen was alleged to have been involved in illegal oil trade worth USD 800 million.

His administration saw the biggest case of corruption in Maldives’ history when USD 1.22 billion was embezzled from Maldives Marketing and Public Relations Corporation (MMPRC). He was alleged to have funneled a large amount of the cash to his account and home. He later admitted to receiving some of the stolen money but then backtracked.

In order to garner support during his speeches, President Yameen repeatedly points to the newly-opened Sinamale’ bridge, the 25-story Dharumavantha Hospital tower, Hulhumale’ phase-2 and the development projects in the atolls as an indication of his administrative prowess, dubbing it ‘concrete progress’.

Solih’s first day in office

The presidential-elect has said that the three things he will do on his first day in office is: release all political prisoners, recover all the stolen state cash, and renew investigations on the unsolved murders.

Solih did not make a single mistake during his campaign

Solih and Faisal have visited all of the inhibited islands, with Solih alone travelling to 154 of them, during their campaign.

During this time, President Yameen travelled to a few islands to inaugurate the government’s development projects.

He has also faced public outrage over the various statements he had made during his campaign, while Solih completed his campaign after clearly defining his pledges and not going on tirades during his speeches.