This new presidential mandate could give Maldives politics a Chinese accent. The pro-China candidate Mohamed Muizzu won the presidential election this Saturday, September 30, in the second round with more than 54% of the vote.
Published on: 09/30/2023 – 11:26 p.m
3 mins
Pro-China candidate Mohamed Muizzu won the Maldives presidential election on Saturday, September 30, well ahead of outgoing leader Mohamed Solih, who campaigned on strengthening ties with India, the archipelago’s traditional ally.
According to the results of the Electoral Commission, Mr. Muizzu, 45 years old, received 54.06% of the votes against the now ex-president, 61 years old, who immediately acknowledged his defeat by sending his “congratulations” to his rival X (ex-Twitter ).
The election could lead to a rapprochement with Beijing in a highly strategic region. This Indian Ocean archipelago is a luxury tourism mecca and lies on one of the world’s busiest sea routes, in an area where India and China compete for influence.
Mohamed Muizzu, whose party came into Beijing’s sphere of influence during the term of his mentor Abdulla Yameen (2013-2018), vigorously defended the financial largesse provided by China. The Maldives benefited from the gigantic Chinese investment project in developing countries as part of the “New Silk Roads”.
“The population took part in a democratic and peaceful process”
Already in the first round of the presidential election, Mr. Muizzu had a comfortable lead (46.1% versus 39.1%) over outgoing President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who sought to improve strained relations with New Delhi during his time in office.
Mr. Solih acknowledged his defeat and wanted to “congratulate the people who took part in a democratic and peaceful process.” Voter turnout was 85% in the second round, with regulator Transparency Maldives noting some incidents of “electoral violence”. Police said they arrested 14 people for violating election rules.
Pro-Chinese turn
In 2018, Mr. Solih won a surprise presidential victory, succeeding Mr. Yameen, who is currently serving an 11-year prison sentence for corruption and money laundering. He had criticized his predecessor for pushing the country into the Chinese debt trap by taking out massive loans for infrastructure. At the time, the Yameen government’s embrace of Beijing worried New Delhi, which shares Western concerns about China’s growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean.
After taking power, Mr. Solih moved quickly to restore the archipelago’s ties with New Delhi, inviting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to his inauguration and bolstering the archipelago’s small military presence. During the re-election campaign, he tried to gain support by advocating for local issues such as housing.
Mr. Muizzu’s party had focused the debate on diplomacy by criticizing Mr. Solih’s rapprochement with India, a country with disproportionate political and economic clout in the Maldives and the subject of longstanding discontent. His PPM party and activist groups have staged regular protests and called for a reduction in India’s influence in the Muslim nation. During the election campaign, Muizzu’s allies even claimed that his election would help rid the country of any foreign interference.
However, Mr Muizzu has openly expressed his plans to follow his mentor Yameen’s pro-Beijing line. “We look forward to returning to government in 2023 (…) to write a new chapter of strong relations between our two countries,” he said at a meeting with members of the Chinese Communist Party last year.
However, during the election campaign, former foreign minister Ahmed Shaheed assured AFP that the next president “will have to strike a balance between the interests of India and China” before warning: “You can’t help but reject India and survive.”
(With AFP)