Maldives Police Service (MPS) has stated it will investigate the circulation of documents that appear to be police statements regarding the 2018 presidential election.
In a press statement, MPS stated the documents being circulated by the media are forged to look like documents from the police service. MPS stated the documents were stamped with the name Dhivehi Fuluhunge Hidhumai, which was not used until the implementation of the Maldives Police Service Act in 2020.
It stated the official stamps in 2018 had used the name Maldives Police Service. MPS stated the documents were forged for the purpose of reducing public trust in the police service. Therefore, the police service stated it will investigate the illegal use of its name and image.
The candidate from Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and the current President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won the 2018 presidential election by a wide margin. The official results show President Solih won with 134,705 votes and then-President Abdulla Yameen received 96,052 votes.
Furthermore, the Supreme Court of the Maldives rejected Yameen's request to overturn the results of the election after concluding there was no basis to substantiate claims of fraud. However, the opposition Progressive Coalition recently renewed calls to investigate claims of fraud in the 2018 election due to the circulation of forged police documents.