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Maldives defender Abdulla Yameen is welcome in neighboring Sri Lanka, Colombo said on Tuesday, two days after his surprise defeat in the presidential elections.
Sri Lanka has long been a haven for dissidents in neighboring Maldives after years of political turmoil, including for hundreds of opponents in Yameen since becoming president in 2013.
In a phone call on Monday, Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe "informed Mr. Yameen that he was welcome to Colombo at any time," the prime minister's office said.
Mr Wickremesinghe made the call after hosting Yameen's great rival and former Maldivian President Mohamed Nasheed at a working lunch on Monday.
Nasheed, the first democratically elected leader of the atoll nation, was sentenced to 13 years in prison after narrowly losing the 2013 Yameen elections.
He fled to London where he sought refuge and now lives in Sri Lanka.
Sunday's election was held with all leading opposition leaders behind bars or in exile, leaving the little-known Ibrahim Mohamed Solih to challenge Yameen.
Solih won with 58% of the vote.
Solih's victory was warmly welcomed by India as Yameen moved closer to China, borrowing heavily from New Delhi's regional rival to invest in infrastructure.
Declaring the victory, Solih demanded that Yameen immediately release all political prisoners in the country. A Maldivian court released five of them Monday night.
Many more are still in jail, including 80 – year – old half – brother and former president of Yameen, Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, who is expected to be released soon.
Under intense international pressure, Yameen acknowledged his defeat and pledged to allow a peaceful transition when he formally resigns on Nov. 17.
Amnesty International, a human rights group, urged Solih on Tuesday to "break with repression and past human rights abuses and chart a new path where human rights are at the heart" of politics government.
The European Union, which had already threatened sanctions, said Monday that it "will continue to look closely at the situation."
