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The opposition candidate, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, claimed victory in the presidential election in the Maldives, a tiny archipelago of great importance in the race for power between India and China.
The country's foreign ministry said the provisional results showed that Solih won 57.6 percent of the vote in Sunday's elections. Although the official result may not be reported for six days, the ministry said there was "no major problem … that would affect the results."
The apparent defeat of outgoing President Abdulla Yameen – who this year ordered a 45-day state of emergency in a confrontation with the Supreme Court – came despite widespread fears that the elections would be manipulated. The United States warned this month against sanctions against the Maldives if the elections were not free and fair, criticizing the "democratic retreat".
The provisional results of the electoral commission showed an advance of 38,484 votes for Mr. Solih, a decisive margin in a country with only 262,000 voters.
"It's a moment of happiness, a moment of hope, a historic moment," Solih told local media. "For many of us, it was a difficult journey, a trip that led to prison cells or exile."
The election commission said it could take up to a week to confirm the official result, and Yameen has yet to comment on the result.
During Yameen's five-year term, the Maldives has forged closer ties with China, which is financing key infrastructure projects in the country. This relationship has raised concerns in India, which closely follows Beijing's growing investments in other neighboring countries such as Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
New Delhi congratulated Solih, saying his apparent victory marked "the triumph of democratic forces in the Maldives".
China sent 11 warships to the eastern Indian Ocean in February after Yameen's state of emergency provoked reports of possible Indian intervention. The president launched the controversial move by suspending normal civil proceedings and arresting key judges, after the Supreme Court ordered the release of key opposition leaders.
The democratic process has been worried ahead of Sunday's elections, especially the day before the election, when police raided opposition headquarters.
Popularly known as Ibu, Mr. Solih was first elected to the Maldivian Parliament in 1994. He was selected as a candidate for the presidential election in July after Mohamed Nasheed.
Nasheed became the first democratically elected leader of the Maldives in 2008 and has drawn the attention of the international community with his calls to protect the country from the effects of climate change. He was overthrown in 2012 in what he called a coup d'etat and lost an election the following year for Mr. Yameen.
Mr Nasheed congratulated Mr Solih on his victory, adding: "Democracy is a historical inevitability."
