Pro-China candidate Mohamed Muizzu wins Maldives presidential election, Solih concedes defeat

Maldives leader Ibrahim Mohamed Solih conceded defeat in Saturday’s presidential vote after an official count showed his pro-China rival Mohamed Muizzu in an unassailable lead.

“Congratulations to the winner of the presidential election Muizzu. Thank you for the beautiful democratic example shown by the people in the elections. Thank you to the MDP and AP members who worked together and to all the people who voted for me,” Solih wrote on X after the Elections Commission of the Maldives showed his opponent winning 54 per cent of ballots.

Muizzu was leading the count with 54% of the vote against 46% won by Solih, local media reported.

Parliament Speaker and former President Mohamed Nasheed also took to his official X account and congratulated Muizzu on his second-round victory.

“Congratulations, President-elect Dr. @MMuizzu”, he said in a post on X.

Foreign Minister of Maldives Abdulla Shahid also took to social media platform X and congratulated Mohamed Muizzu for winning the elections.

“Congratulations to President-elect Dr Mohamed Muizzu for winning the Presidential Election 2023.   Many congratulations and much gratitude to President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, for the many seeds of hope he had sown over the last 5 years, which will surely reap much prosperity for our country and people,” he wrote.

Voters in Maldives lined up at polling stations on Saturday (Sep 30) to cast their ballot in a run-off presidential election that is also being considered as a virtual referendum on which country, India or China, will have the most significant influence in the Indian Ocean archipelago nation.

Frontrunner Mohamed Muizzu, who is viewed as a strong pro-China contender, led incumbent President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih by 6 percentage points in the first round of voting that took place earlier in September. 

Muizzu secured a surprise lead with over 46 per cent, whereas Solih, who supervised the restoration of ties with India, followed at 39 per cent.

As per news agency Reuters, a poll held last week by the local Baani Center think tank, showed Solih ahead with 30% and Muizzu at 24% but with 36% of voters undecided.

Thousands turned out early at over 586 polling stations across 187 islands. Maldivians also voted at polling stations in India, Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Britain and Abu Dhabi.

“Everything is going on as scheduled. There are no issues yet,” Reuters quoted Fuwad Thowfeek, the president of the Elections Commission, as saying.

“Queues formed long before polling opened,” an election official told news agency AFP, requesting anonymity. 

“The Elections Commission is encouraging people to vote early.”

Seated in strategically crucial spot

The country which is home to approximately 1,200 coral islands, is seated in a strategically crucial spot, being right in the middle of the Indian Ocean straddling one of the world’s busiest east-west shipping lanes.

The polls could drastically rebalance the country’s relations with India and China which are vying for influence in the geopolitical hotspot.

Muizzu, the 45-year-old mayor of Male, spearheaded the $200 million China-backed bridge connecting the capital to the country’s main airport while in the last government.

Solih won office in 2018 on the back of discontentment with his authoritarian forerunner Abdullah Yameen, who is an ally of Muizzu and is now serving an 11-year jail sentence for corruption.

He had accused Yameen of forcing the country into a Chinese debt quagmire by borrowing too much money for infrastructure.

Solih had then, in an effort to improve ties with India, invited Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend his inauguration.

(With inputs from agencies)

 

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