The Maldives' military chief on Wednesday vowed to uphold results of the presidential polls amid opposition fears that the outgoing President Abdulla Yameen would try to cling on to power.

"The people have spoken," Major General Ahmed Shiyam told the local media. "I want to assure the Maldivian people that the military will protect the will of the people."

Police chief Abdulla Nawaz issued a similar televised statement on the same day.

Yameen had conceded defeat shortly after provisional results released on Monday showed the opposition candidate, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, winning 58 percent of votes.

Formal poll results will be announced by the election commission on Sunday and Yameen must hand over power to Solih on November 17 at the end of his five-year term.

But rumors have abounded on social media and elsewhere that Yameen could file an election petition seeking the delay of the announcement.

Election commission chief Ahmed Shareef confirmed that Yameen's party lodged several complaints of vote irregularities.

"We will look into these concerns," Shareef said, adding that there were no grounds for him to delay the announcement of the formal results.

Earlier Wednesday, the opposition accused Yameen of delaying the release of high-profile political prisoners despite calls by his successor for their release.

Shortly after his shock defeat, Yameen freed five prisoners. But scores of others - including Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, his estranged half-brother and former president - remain incarcerated.

There was no immediate comment from the government. Yameen jailed or exiled most of his rivals during his turbulent five-year term.

China vowed to "deepen cooperation" with the Maldives on Tuesday and congratulated the president-elect.

"The Chinese side congratulates the Maldives on the smooth holding of the presidential election and Mr Solih on his election as the President. We respect the choice made by the people in the Maldives and hope that the Maldives can maintain stability and development," Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Geng Shuang said at a press conference in Beijing.

"China and the Maldives enjoy traditional friendship. In recent years, our bilateral relations have maintained a sound momentum of growth. Our two sides have conducted mutually beneficial cooperation under the framework of the Belt and Road Initiative, which has yielded fruitful outcomes," he said. "We are willing to work with the Maldives to continue to cement traditional friendship and deepen mutually beneficial cooperation so as to deliver benefits to our two countries and two peoples," the foreign ministry spokesperson concluded.

(With input from agencies)

[Cover: Opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih greets a crowd after winning Maldives' presidential election in Male on September 24, 2018. /VCG Photo]