7 Apr 2019; DW: Maldives President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih's Maldivian Democratic Party seems set to win the country's parliamentary elections, provisional results showed on Sunday.
The MDP was set to secure 59 of 87 parliamentary seats in Saturday's elections, with a turnout of almost 80%.
The elections saw the dramatic comeback of former President Mohamed Nasheed (top picture), who is set to take over the leadership of the national parliament after winning a seat in the legislature.
Nasheed returned to the country just five months ago after his former deputy Solih won an unexpected victory against Abdulla Yameen in the September presidential elections for the MDP, which Yameen barred Nasheed from contesting.
First vote since downfall of Yameen
It is the first national vote since autocratic former president and Nasheed's archrival Yameen was forced to stand down after his five-year term, facing charges of money laundering and embezzlement.
The Elections Commission is expected to release official results by Sunday afternoon, but final results won't be endorsed until April 12 after ballot papers from overseas polling stations in Britain, India, Malaysia and Sri Lanka have been received.
