Maldivian Ambassador to the United Nations (UN) Dr. Ali Naseer has stated that the presidential election, held on September 23, went smoothly and that it was a step towards strengthening democracy in the island nation.
Addressing the General Debate of the UN General Assembly, Dr. Naseer stated that incumbent President Abdulla Yameen Abdul Gayoom brought about considerable economic development and guaranteed that the Maldives would remain ready to co-operate with the united nations willing to aid development efforts.
He highlighted that immense socioeconomic progress has been achieved since the declaration of independence in 1965, with Maldives now classified as a middle-income country.
Despite Dr. Naseer's guarantees, the outgoing Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) recently protested against the Elections Commission (EC), following the leak of an audio footage of a phone call between EC chief Ahmed Shareef and an unidentified individual.
PPM has used the recording to claim that the election's results were tampered with.
The incumbent president also participated in the rally, despite having conceded defeat and assuring that he would respect the people's decision in a public address given on the day following the election.
President Yameen lost his bid for re-election to the opposition candidate, President-Elect Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who won the election with a lead of more than 38,000 votes.
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