Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu arrives to cast his ballot for the parliamentary election at a polling station in Mali, Maldives on April 21, 2024.
| Photo Credit: PTI

After his party won a decisive majority in Sunday’s general elections, Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu has both executive powers and parliamentary backing to shape the island nation’s policies for the next five years.

Provisional results showed that the ruling People’s National Congress (PNC) secured 71 out of the 93 seats in parliament or People’s Majlis, as it is known in the island nation. The party was preparing to hold a huge celebration titled “Welcome — to the People’s Nation’s Majlis”, in capital Male on Monday night.

The Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) which had put up a similar, impressive show in 2019, winning 65 out of 87 seats then, faced a serious setback in this election, losing in most constituencies. The party secured only a dozen seats. Significantly, candidates affiliated to the two new formations of former Presidents Abdulla Yameen and Mohamed Nasheed who split, respectively, from Mr. Muizzu and President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, failed to win a single seat.

“I am still in some kind of shock, and trying to make sense of the results,” said Ibrahim Ismail, a former MP from the MDP, an academic and a prominent voice in the country’s pro-democracy reform movement since the early 2000s. “This sort of three-fourths majority allows them to even re-write the Constitution. And it’s always a red flag when one party is able to do that in a democracy,” he told The Hindu from Male. He said the new composition also gave rise to fears over the possible undermining of the rule of law.

It is not that the MDP did not wield similar control over the last parliament, but some like Mr. Ismail see the current situation as being “very different”. “How a party [PNC] that is not known to espouse democratic values might deal with such absolute power is a major concern. The MDP for all its internal weaknesses is a party rooted in democracy and human rights. Also, it offers more space for diverse voices and dissent within,” Mr. Ismail contended.

While citing the MDP’s internal fissures, especially around the split of President Nasheed, as one of the chief reasons for the electorate’s disillusionment with the party, the former MP said Mr. Solih “went overboard” with his ‘India First’ policy, much like his predecessor Mr. Yameen, who “did the same with China”.

All the same Mr. Muizzu’s detractors worry that his political camp’s ultra-nationalist rhetoric may not bode well for balanced international relations in the long run. “It is not ideal for small countries to tilt too much towards one power or the other,” Mr. Ismail observed.

Mr. Muizzu’s foreign policy priorities are no secret. After making “India out” his poll plank in last year’s Presidential race, he gave it policy direction, eventually getting New Delhi to agree to replace its military personnel with civilians. Around the same time, he pledged to elevate strategic ties with China.

According to Ahmed Mohamed, a former diplomat who served as the Maldives’s Ambassador to India during President Yameen’s term, the results of the general election in the Maldives only point to a continuing trend observed in the past two elections. “There is a widespread belief among the public that in order to sustain progress, development, and prosperity, the government must secure an absolute majority in the Majlis,” he told The Hindu. “Given this outcome, I do not anticipate any changes to the foreign policy of the Maldives,” he added.

The Opposition parties have demanded a probe and impeachment of Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu following the leaked report of his alleged corruption from 2018. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Ahead of the parliamentary polls in the Maldives, the Opposition parties have demanded a probe and impeachment of President Mohamed Muizzu following the leaked report of his alleged corruption from 2018, a charge dismissed by him.

Elections to the Majlis are to be held on Sunday and the atmosphere has been vitiated by the trading of charges between the main Opposition the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and Mr. Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC).

Local media reports have highlighted that the political storm started on Monday with an anonymous handle ‘Hassan Kurusee’ posting on social media X leaked intelligence reports, including documents prepared by the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU) of the Maldives Monetary Authority and the Maldives Police Service that allegedly linked President Muizzu to corruption.

“These reports, dated circa 2018, claim irregularities in money transfers to President Muizzu’s personal bank account, highlighting 10 critical red flag indicators of financial misconduct. These indicators suggest involvement with politically exposed persons, embezzlement, structured transactions, and the use of corporate entities to hide fund origins,” news portal Maldives Republic (mvrepublic.com) reported.

The allegations soon created a political storm with several reactions pouring in on various social media channels. News portals and newspapers, however, tread with caution. The opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and People’s National Front (PNF) demanded an investigation into the matter.

Former Vice President Dr. Mohamed Jameel Ahmed urged Mr. Muizzu’s impeachment following the leaked intelligence reports. Taking to his social media handle X, Dr. Jameel reposted these documents, emphasising the need for accountability at all levels of governance.

Apart from demanding Mr. Muizzu’s impeachment, Dr. Jameel, a senior member of the Progressive Party of Maldives, “also accused President Muizzu of extensive corruption in his flagship Ras Male’ development project and alleged excessive spending on public relations. Dr. Jameel has called on President Muizzu to cooperate with independent investigations into these allegations,” mvrepublic.com said.

The news portal also claimed that this was the first time an FIU report was leaked and said, there has been no official confirmation or response from government bodies regarding the legitimacy of the reports or the allegations.

Adhadhu.com reported that President Muizzu responded late on Tuesday night to corruption allegations declaring that the Opposition “cannot show any wrongdoing on his part regardless of how far attempts to implicate him are taken” and also accused the Opposition of leaking the reports out of desperation.

“The same allegations had been made during his campaigns for mayor and President,” he said adding, the response would also be the same as before.

“While you attempt to pin something on me like this, you couldn’t do it before and you can’t do it now. There’s nothing you can show against me no matter how far you take this,” Adhadhu.com said, quoting the President.

Atoll Times gave a detailed account of what President Muizzu said in his defence, including how he would “never compromise the rights of the people and that no matter how many such allegations are made, nobody will be able to show anything done in such a manner.”

“The last five years Opposition was in government, if there was anything done wrong, it would have come to light,” Mr. Muizzu said.

“The President’s remarks came after the Opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and People’s National Front (PNF) called on the relevant authorities to investigate the serious allegations against the President. But no government investigative agency has yet to comment on the issue,” Adhadhu.com reported.

A total of 368 candidates are contesting for 93 seats in this year’s parliamentary elections on April 21, according to media reports. The outcome of the elections will determine whether the Opposition parties can act against President Muizzu, who assumed charge in November last year.

Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu. File
| Photo Credit: AP

Stepping up his anti-India rhetoric, Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu has affirmed that no Indian military personnel, not even those in civilian clothing, would be present inside his country after May 10, a media report said on March 5.

Mr. Muizzu’s statement comes less than a week after an Indian civilian team reached the Maldives to take charge of one of the three aviation platforms in the island nation, well ahead of the March 10 deadline agreed by the two nations for the withdrawal of Indian military personnel.

“Addressing the Baa atoll Eydhafushi residential community during his tour across the atoll, the President stated that due to his government’s success in expelling Indian troops from the country, people who spread false rumours, are attempting to twist the situation,” a news portal Edition.mv reported.

“That these people [Indian military] are not departing, that they are returning after changing their uniforms into civilian clothing. We must not indulge such thoughts that instil doubts in our hearts and spread lies,” the portal quoted Mr. Muizzu, widely regarded as a pro-China leader, as saying.

“There will be no Indian troops in the country come May 10. Not in uniform and not in civilian clothing. The Indian military will not be residing in this country in any form of clothing. I state this with confidence,” he said, on a day when his country signed an agreement with China to receive free military aid.

Earlier last month, after a high-level meeting in Delhi on February 2 between the two sides, the Maldivian Foreign Ministry said India would replace its military personnel operating the three aviation platforms in the Maldives by May 10 and the first phase of the process would be completed by March 10. In his maiden address to Parliament on February 5, he made similar remarks.

There are 88 military personnel manning the three Indian platforms that have been providing humanitarian and medical evacuation services to the people of the Maldives for the last few years using two helicopters and a Dornier aircraft.

Mr. Muizzu rode to power last year on an anti-India stance and within hours of taking oath demanded India to remove its personnel from the strategically located archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

Edition.mv further reported that while the first troops to depart the country are the Indian military personnel operating the two helicopters in Addu City, the military personnel present in Haa Dhaalu atoll Hanimaadhoo and Laamu atoll Kahdhoo are also expected to leave ahead of May 10.

India had agreed to remove their troops from Maldives under the condition that a number of their civilians equivalent to the military presence are brought to operate the aircraft.

“The Opposition has been directing criticism at the administration asserting that the Indian personnel sent to Maldives as civilians are in reality military officials out of uniform and that the government has no way to ascertain otherwise,” the portal claimed.

Meanwhile, local media reports also said that Maldives has successfully tied up with Sri Lanka to run flights for medical evacuation last week, further indicating that it is bent on removing all Indian troops in whichever category.

Further highlighting that securing true independence is a concept he regards with utmost priority, the President remarked that the State is exerting efforts with due importance “to regain the southern maritime area deprived of the country in addition to expelling Indian troops from the Maldives.”

“I am confident we can achieve this. The delay in concluding this task is due to the adverse procedures practiced during the implementation. It was done without even taking the matter to the Parliament … in violation of the Constitution as well,” the portal quoted the President as saying.

The Maldives’ proximity to India, barely 70 nautical miles from the island of Minicoy in Lakshadweep and 300 nautical miles from the mainland’s western coast and its location at the hub of commercial sea lanes running through the Indian Ocean Region (IOR) gives it significant strategic importance.

The Maldives has been India’s key maritime neighbour in the IOR and it occupies a special place in its initiatives such as SAGAR (Security and Growth for All in the Region) and the Neighbourhood First Policy.’