Maldives’ President Mohamed Muizzu (C) along with his supporters take part in an election campaign rally on the eve of the country’s parliamentary election, in Male on April 20, 2024. The Maldives votes on April 21 in a parliamentary election likely to test Muizzu’s tilt towards China and away from India, the luxury tourism hotspot’s traditional benefactor.
| Photo Credit: AFP

Maldivians voted in parliamentary elections on April 21, in a ballot crucial for President Mohamed Muizzu, whose policies are keenly watched by India and China as they vie for influence in the archipelago nation.

Both countries are seeking a foothold in the Maldives, which has a strategic location in the Indian Ocean.

Mr. Muizzu’s election as President last year sharpened the rivalry between India and China, with the new leader taking a pro-China stand and acting to remove Indian troops stationed on one of the country’s islets.

Securing a majority in Parliament will be tough for Mr. Muizzu because some of his allies have fallen out and more parties entered the race.

Also Read | As Indian troops pull out, Maldives signs defence pact with China 

Six political parties and independent groups are fielding 368 candidates for 93 seats in Parliament. That is six more seats than the previous Parliament following adjustments for population growth.

About 284,000 people were eligible to vote and tentative results were expected to be announced late on April 21.

Mr. Muizzu’s election campaign theme for President was “India out”, accusing his predecessor of compromising national sovereignty by giving India too much influence.

At least 75 Indian military personnel were stationed in the Maldives and their known activities were operating two aircraft donated by India and assisting in the rescue of people stranded or faced with calamities at sea. Mr. Muizzu has taken steps to have civilians take over those activities.

Relations strained further when Indian social media activists started a boycott campaign of Maldives tourism. That was in retaliation for three Maldivian Deputy Ministers making derogatory statements about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for raising the idea of promoting tourism in Lakshadweep, India’s own string of islands similar to the Maldives.

Also Read | Indian tourists’ boycott call post Modi visit to Lakshadweep may impact Maldives | Data

According to recent Maldives government statistics, the number of Indian tourists has fallen, dropping that country from being the top source of foreign visitors to No. 6.

Mr. Muizzu visited China earlier this year and negotiated an increase in the number of tourists and inbound flights from China.

In 2013, Maldives joined China’s “Belt and Road” initiative meant to build ports and highways to expand trade — and China’s influence — across Asia, Africa and Europe.

Mali, Maldives:

The Maldives votes Sunday in a parliamentary election likely to test President Mohamed Muizzu’s tilt towards China and away from India, the luxury tourism hotspot’s traditional benefactor.

Primarily known as one of the most expensive holiday destinations in South Asia, with pristine white beaches and secluded resorts, the strategic Indian Ocean island nation has also become a geopolitical hotspot.

Global east-west shipping lanes pass the nation’s chain of 1,192 tiny coral islands, stretching around 800 kilometres (500 miles) across the equator.

President Mohamed Muizzu, 45, won last September’s presidential poll as a proxy for pro-China ex-president Abdulla Yameen, this week freed after a court set aside his 11-year jail term for corruption.

This month, he awarded high-profile infrastructure contracts to Chinese state-owned companies as campaigning for the parliamentary elections was in full swing.

His administration is also in the process of sending home a garrison of 89 Indian troops that operate reconnaissance aircraft gifted by New Delhi to patrol the vast maritime borders of the archipelago.

The current parliament, dominated by the pro-India Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) of his immediate predecessor Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, has sought to stymie his efforts to realign the archipelago’s diplomacy.

“Geopolitics is very much in the background as parties campaign for votes in Sunday’s election,” a senior aide of Muizzu told AFP, asking not to be named.

“He came to power on a promise to send back Indian troops and he is working on it. The parliament has not been cooperating with him since he came to power.”

Since Muizzu came to office, lawmakers have blocked three of his nominees to the cabinet and refused some of his spending proposals.

Splits in all the main political parties, including Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC), are expected to make it hard for any single party to win a majority.

But Muizzu’s prospects this week received a fillip with the release of his mentor Yameen from house arrest this week.

A court in the capital Male ordered a retrial in the graft and money laundering cases that saw Yameen sent to prison after he lost a re-election bid in 2018.

Yameen had also backed closer alignment with Beijing while in power but his conviction left him unable to contest last year’s presidential poll on his own.

He instead put forward Muizzu as a proxy, and after leaving the High Court on Thursday, Yameen vowed to continue the running anti-India campaign that helped his ally to victory.

Around 285,000 Maldivians are eligible to vote on Sunday, with results likely by early the next day.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Policemen patrol near the Parliament building in Male, Maldives. File.
| Photo Credit: AP

 The Maldives’ Parliamentary elections has been rescheduled for April 21, the Election Commission has said, after President Mohamed Muizzu ratified a Bill that allowed for the postponement of the polls.

The elections were originally scheduled to be held on March 17 this year, but the opposition sought a deferment, citing Ramadan — from March 10, 2024 to April 9, 2024 — that practising Muslims observe as a month of prayer and fasting.

The Opposition, comprising the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) along with its breakaway faction The Democrats, currently has majority in the People’s Majlis or parliament. Together, its MPs on February 11 voted to amend the country’s General Elections Act, to enable pushing the polls to a different date.

However, President Muizzu did not ratify the amendment in the first instance. On February 28, the legislature reaffirmed its decision in a fresh vote, after which Mr. Muizzu ratified the Bill. 

Maldives’ main opposition candidate Mohamed Muizzu casts his vote in Male, Maldives, on September 30, 2023.
| Photo Credit: AP

Frontrunner and Opposition candidate Mohamed Muizzu appeared poised for victory in the Maldivian presidential race, provisional results of Saturday’s run-off showed, as he beat the India-friendly incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih in a closely fought contest in the Indian Ocean archipelago.

Also read: The Hindu Profiles: Who is Mohamed Muizzu? 

The second round of the presidential election saw a higher voter turnout of 86%, compared to the 79.85% recorded in the first, the lowest seen in a Maldivian presidential election.  Around 9 p.m. IST, the Election Commission of Maldives showed Mr. Muizzu having garnered about 56% of the vote, while Mr. Solih had secured nearly 46%.  

The vote for change in the Maldives comes after a strong anti-incumbency sentiment against the Solih administration, and a concerted Opposition campaign, led by his rival, former President and jailed leader Abdulla Yameen, demanding ‘India out’ of the country.

President Solih came under sharp attack from the Opposition for his close India ties. While the Opposition People’s National Congress-Progressive Party of Maldives coalition’s pro-China stance is no secret, observers within the Maldives have said Mr. Muizzu is unlikely to abruptly sever ties with India.  The newly-elected leader would seek to balance India-China ties, they note, even as New Delhi hopes for continuity in India’s many infrastructure projects across the island nation.

Both candidates had made big promises on housing, a preoccupation for the Maldivian voter, as the island nation battles congestion and development skewed towards capital Male, while several other atolls await basic amenities. The winner of Saturday’s election, which followed an inconclusive first round on September 9, 2023, will have his task cut out, as the country faces mounting debt, dwindling foreign reserves and heightening climate risks.

The Maldives is also preparing for a referendum next month, for citizens to decide if the country must switch to a parliamentary system of governance, a long-time demand of former President and parliamentary Speaker Mohamed Nasheed. After his fallout with his party colleague and friend Mr. Solih —it is seen as a major reason for Mr. Solih’s electoral defeat —Mr. Nasheed backed a young aspirant who came third in the first round, and exited the race.

People’s National Congress (PNC) candidate Mohamed Muizzu casts his ballot at a polling station during the second round of Maldives’ presidential election in Male on September 30, 2023. The Maldives began voting on September 30 to decide their next president in a referendum on whether to hitch their fortunes to China or India, both vying for influence in the tropical paradise. (Photo by Mohamed Afrah / AFP)
| Photo Credit: MOHAMED AFRAH

Maldivians were voting on September 30 in the run-off presidential election which has turned into a virtual referendum on which regional power — India or China — will have the biggest influence in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.

Neither main opposition candidate Mohamed Muizzu nor incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih got more than 50% in the first round of voting earlier in September, triggering a runoff election. Mr. Solih, who was first elected president in 2018, is battling allegations by Mr. Muizzu that he had allowed India an unchecked presence in the country. Mr. Muizzu’s party, the People’s National Congress, is viewed as heavily pro-China.

Mr. Muizzu secured a surprise lead with more than 46% of votes in the first round, while Mr. Solih secured 39% votes.

Abdullah Yameen, leader of the People’s National Congress, made the Maldives a part of China’s Belt and Road initiative during his presidency 2013 to 2018. The initiative is meant to build railroads, ports and highways to expand trade — and China’s influence — across Asia, Africa and Europe.

The Maldives is made up of 1,200 coral islands in the Indian Ocean located by the main shipping route between the East and the West.

Mr. Muizzu promised that if he won the Presidency, he would remove Indian troops stationed in the Maldives and balance the country’s trade relations, which he said were heavily in India’s favor.

There are more than 2,82,000 eligible voters and the runoff result is expected Sunday.