In the recent presidential election in the Maldives, Mohamed Muizzu, a candidate with pro-China leanings, emerged victorious, and this outcome is poised to once again reshape the archipelago's relationship with its long-standing supporter, India.
On Saturday, Mohamed Muizzu, aged 45, secured victory in the presidential election, marking a significant shift in the political landscape of the Maldives. His triumph, with 54.06 percent of the vote in the run-off contest, led the incumbent president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, to graciously concede defeat shortly before midnight.
Solih took to social media, or more precisely, X (formerly Twitter), to extend his congratulations to President-elect Muizzu. He commended the Maldivian people for their role in fostering a peaceful and democratic electoral process.
Muizzu, who leads a political party that oversaw a period of increased Chinese financial involvement during its previous tenure in the Maldives, is now at the helm of the nation. This period coincided with the Maldives being renowned for its luxurious beach resorts and visits by celebrities from around the world.
Outside his party's campaign headquarters, Muizzu made a brief appearance to request his supporters to hold off on celebrations until Sunday morning, when official campaign restrictions would conclude. Solih, on the other hand, at the age of 61, will serve as the caretaker president until the formal inauguration of his successor on November 17.
The election result signifies a departure from Solih's efforts over the past five years to realign the Maldives' diplomatic stance toward New Delhi, India's capital.
Notably, Muizzu played a pivotal role in a previous government's development initiatives, which were partly funded through the generous financial support of China's Belt and Road infrastructure project. He conveyed his intention to further strengthen the ties between the Maldives and China during a meeting with officials from the Chinese Communist Party last year.
Geographically, the Maldives occupies a strategically significant position in the middle of the Indian Ocean, situated along one of the world's busiest east-west maritime routes.
Muizzu's mentor, former president Abdulla Yameen, had heavily borrowed from China for various construction projects and had shifted the nation's allegiance away from India. Solih's election in 2018 was, in part, a response to widespread discontent with Yameen's increasingly autocratic rule and concerns about the country falling into a Chinese debt trap.
Yameen's pro-Beijing stance had also raised alarms in New Delhi, where shared concerns existed with the United States and its allies about China's escalating assertiveness in the Indian Ocean. India is a member of the strategic Quad alliance alongside the United States, Australia, and Japan.
Nevertheless, Solih's restoration of the Maldives' traditional alignment with India was not without controversy, as many in the archipelago expressed reservations about India's substantial political and economic influence.
In a notable commitment, Muizzu has pledged to secure the release of Yameen, who is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for corruption, and to transfer him to house arrest. During his tenure, Yameen had imprisoned numerous political opponents on the same prison island.
The voter turnout in Saturday's election was robust, standing at 85 percent, slightly higher than in the initial round of voting earlier in the month. Transparency Maldives, a watchdog group, reported instances of "electoral violence," although it did not provide specific details. An incident involving the unauthorized opening of a plastic ballot box was reported, but the ballots remained intact, and there was no disruption to the vote-counting process. Additionally, law enforcement apprehended 14 individuals, primarily for capturing and sharing images of their marked ballot papers on social media platforms.
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