Pro-Government Wins Majority in Maldives

[Tsiyu]

MALE, Maldives (AP) -- Pro-government candidates won a majority of seats in Maldives' parliamentary elections but opposition candidates made strong gains, the government and opposition said Wednesday after provisional results were released for all 42 contested seats.

The two sides differed sharply on the breakdown of seats in this Indian Ocean archipelago's legislature, with the government claiming to have won a commanding majority of 30, while the opposition said the government won only 22 seats.

Last weekend's vote is expected to usher in a multiparty system in Maldives, which has been ruled for decades by an authoritarian government and where political parties remain banned. But leaders have pledged to make the nation a democracy.

The new Parliament is expected to convene by the end of February, chief government spokesman Ahmed Shaheed said.

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