Pro-China candidate wins Maldives election
India suffered a setback in its neighboring nation, the Maldives as Mohamed Muizzu, a candidate backed by China, emerged victorious in the presidential runoff held recently, defeating the pro-India incumbent President Ibrahim Solih, the Economic Times reported.
Pro-China candidate wins Maldives election
Geurasia

Pro-China candidate wins Maldives election

Photo: AFP/Mohamed Afrah
Eurasia 02/10/2023 22:20

India suffered a setback in its neighboring nation, the Maldives as Mohamed Muizzu, a candidate backed by China, emerged victorious in the presidential runoff held recently, defeating the pro-India incumbent President Ibrahim Solih, the Economic Times reported.

Mohamed Muizzu currently holds the position of Mayor in Male and enjoys the support of former Maldivian President Abdulla Yameen, who is widely seen as having close ties with China, making him a significant figure in the Indian Ocean nation. It's worth noting that Yameen, who is presently serving a jail sentence, played a crucial role in the Indian Out campaign, which had garnered substantial attention and support from the opposition, the newspaper added.

The opposition leader received  54 percent of the votes on Saturday, Al Jazeera wrote and is set to be sworn in on November 17. 

The result upends Solih’s efforts to revert the country’s diplomatic posture back towards New Delhi since taking office five years ago, the news site added.

According to Al Jazeera, Muizzu told Chinese Communist Party officials during an online meeting last year that his party’s return to office would expand the “strong ties between our two countries”.

Al Jazeera’s Tony Cheng, reporting from Male, said Muizzu might find it hard to fulfil all the promises he made during campaigning. “India is deeply involved enmeshed in the finances, in trade, in infrastructure growth. I think it will be very hard, even if he wanted to, to stop that. He has publicly said he favours China,” Cheng said.

Photo: AFP/Mohamed Afrah
#India #China #Maldives
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