UPDATE 1-Defeated Maldives leader's party asks for delay in final vote results

The party of defeated Maldives' President Abdulla Yameen has requested a delay in the publication of final results from an election for which Yameen conceded defeat, Elections Commission chief Ahmed Shareef said on Wednesday.

Opposition leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih won Sunday's vote by more than 16 percent after poll monitors said was peaceful. Three sources close to Solih told Reuters the party's request could be an attempt to have the election result annulled.

"PPM (Progressive Party of Maldives) has raised some concerns and asked the commission to delay the announcement of the official results," Shareef told Reuters.

Shareef said the "lawful deadline" for issuing final results was Sunday and the Commission had not decided on the PPM request. "The Commission has not been briefed on the nature of the complaints yet but there are allegations of fraud from what I understand," he said.

"I do not see any complaint that would affect the outcome of the election but we will have to see what the complaint is," he said. Officials from Yameen's PPM did not respond to requests for comment.

Spokesmen for the high court and the supreme court said they had not received requests from the PPM to delay results.

The Maldives is best known as a luxury holiday destination and is key to a battle for influence between India and China.

It has faced political upheaval since February when Yameen imposed a state of emergency to annul a Supreme Court ruling that quashed the convictions of nine opposition leaders, including former president Mohamed Nasheed, the country's first democratically elected leader.