Pro-China Mohamed Muizzu etched out a win against incumbent President Ibrahim Solih in the second-round runoff of the Maldives election.
The development could herald a pro-China shift for the Indian Ocean archipelago from traditional partner India. The opposition candidate received 54% of the ballots in Saturday's vote, while Solih got 46% after nearly all votes were counted. The Elections Commission of the Maldives revealed the numbers for the two candidates.
Mohamed Muizzu Wins Maldives' Presidential Election
The region has roughly 85% of its 282,000 eligible voters turning up at more than 586 polling stations across 187 islands. In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Solih congratulated his rival and thanked the people for their exemplary democratic spirit.
The incumbent president, who championed an "India First" policy during his time in power, will remain as the region's president until Muizzu's inauguration, which is scheduled on Nov. 17. The coalition that supported the opposition candidate has also supported Chinese loans and investment projects in the past, as per CNN.
Former President Abdulla Yameen, who has close links to Muizzu, is serving an 11-year-old jail term for corruption and money laundering. His supporters argue that the charges against him were politically motivated.
In the capital, Male, Muizzu spoke to reporters, saying it was a day when the people decided to win back Maldives independence. He said that if all the people worked together with unity, they would succeed.
The opposition candidate also called on President Solih to release Yameen to house arrest. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has also sent a congratulatory message to Muizzi after announcing his victory.
Pro-China Opposition Candidate
The results of the Maldives election upends Solih's attempts to revert the region's diplomatic posture towards New Delhi since taking office half a decade ago. According to The Guardian, Muizzi played a pivotal role in an earlier government's development program, which was funded partly by financial largesse from China's Belt and Road Infrastructure Initiative (BRI).
The Maldives sits strategically in the middle of the Indian Ocean, astride one of the busiest east-west shipping lanes worldwide. Yameen considered Muizzu's mentor, previously borrowed from China for construction projects and spurned India.
New Delhi shared concerns with the United States and its allies about China's growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean. Despite Muizzu's win, Transparency Maldives, a watchdog group, said there were some "electoral violence" incidents but did not provide further details regarding the issues.
The opposition candidate's victory comes after his emergency as the frontrunner during the first round of voting on Sept. 8 took many by surprise. At the time, he took roughly 46% of the cast ballots. On the other hand, Solih, who was hurt by a low voter turnout and a split within his Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP, got only 39%.
Aljazeera said the runoff was seen as having significant implications for the region's foreign policy, particularly in deciding China and India's long-running battle for influence in the strategically-located country.
