President Abdulla Yameen has decided to boycott his successor Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's inauguration.
While the inauguration is to be held on Saturday, spokesperson at the President’s Office Ibrahim Muaz Ali announced this via Twitter on Friday night.
Noting that the outgoing president believes that the people have been deprived of a fundamental right and justice ‘to this day’, the spokesperson said that he chose to decline the invitation in accordance with the wishes of ‘thousands’ of his supporters.
"Miadhaa hamayah dhivehiraajjeyge rayyithunge bodu haggeh gelli, insaafu nulibifaivaa kamah gaboolfulhu kurevveythee aai, emanikufaanah thaaeedhu kuravvaa ethah haas supportarunge edhivadaithumah ihthiraam kurevvumuge gothun, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih huvaakurevvumah baavvaa..
— ɪʙʀᴀʜɪᴍ ᴍᴜᴀᴢ ᴀʟɪ (@SpokespersonMV) November 16, 2018
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rasmiyyaathugai Raeesuljumhooriyyaa baiverivevadainugathumah vany ninmavaafai" -im
— ɪʙʀᴀʜɪᴍ ᴍᴜᴀᴢ ᴀʟɪ (@SpokespersonMV) November 16, 2018
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At the September 23 election, President Yameen lost his bid for re-election after receiving just 96,052 votes while his only opponent and opposition coalition candidate, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, received 134,705 votes.
While Yameen initially conceded defeat, he later began accusing the Elections Commission of rigging the election, after claiming that many of his supporters have reached out to him and raised various concerns regarding procedures on election day.
Yameen requested the Supreme Court to annul the election result on the basis of these claims but was rejected.
