Speaking during a press conference where he officially conceded defeat to Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Abdulla Yamin, Nasheed said MDP will remain as a sincere opposition party to the state. “MDP will be a sincere political party to the state. I will be pleased if MDP can function as a sincere opposition party,” Nasheed said. Unofficial results showed Yamin secured 51.37 percent of the votes over opposition leader Nasheed. Speaking during a press conference held with his coalition partners, Yamin urged Nasheed to extend cooperation to his government. “I thank president Nasheed. Now the country needs stability. I hope we will receive the necessary cooperation from Nasheed through the parliament,” Yamin said during the first press conference after winning the elections. In response to Yamin’s plea, Nasheed insisted that his party’s parliamentary group will decide on a course of action in parliament. Nasheed, a former pro-democracy campaigner and climate change activist who won the first free polls in 2008, had been the frontrunner 21 months after he resigned under pressure from demonstrators and mutinous police officers. As expected, the race had been a tightly fought contest before Yamin pulled away, securing some major constituencies. However, his main opponents united after his first round victory on November 9 and mounted a formidable challenge, leading to Yamin’s victory. Yamin is the half-brother of former president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom who ruled the country for 30 years, before the nation’s first democratic elections in 2008 which Nasheed won. Nasheed also said MDP needs to look forward to the upcoming local council elections later this year and the parliamentary elections next year. Nasheed, a one-time political prisoner, won a first vote on September 7 with 45 percent. But the result was annulled by the Supreme Court which upheld a complaint about voter list irregularities. After another attempt to hold the poll was blocked, a re-run of the first round took place on November 9 which Nasheed won by a larger margin -- nearly 47 percent -- but still not enough for an outright victory. A run-off election announced for the day after by the independent Elections Commission was again cancelled by the Supreme Court.