An unlikely saviour

Who would have thought Elections Commissioner Ahmed Shareef would be celebrated as a saviour of democracy?

When provisional results were announced hours after polls closed on September 23, the Maldives held its collective breath to see whether the vote would be respected, fearing another farcical election annulment as in 2013.

Opposition supporters were jubilant but apprehensive when the results showed a landslide win for Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. It was widely expected that President Abdulla Yameen – who has jailed political opponents, declared states of emergency, suspended parliament and arrested Supreme Court justices – would not go quietly into the night.

And yet Yameen publicly conceded defeat a day after the election. The ruling party has since alleged vote rigging and signalled it would seek a Supreme Court ruling to annul the election. But the transition process has been continuing unhindered amid daily celebratory events with the president-elect.