Maldives: The People’s National Congress (PNC) of Mohamed Muizzu, the Maldives’ President has won a stunning victory in the parliamentary elections, consolidating his position in power. Provisional results indicate that the PNC secured 66 of the 93 seats in the house.
Experts consider the outcome a powerful endorsement of Muizzu’s foreign policy, which aims to establish close associations with China. Muizzu, who is perceived as pro-China, plans to limit India’s long-standing influence in his nation.
The PNC’s victory, which will be confirmed in a few days, is defined as a ‘supermajority.’ The party won the two-thirds majority in parliament necessary to amend the constitution. The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), the main opposition group, only won 15 seats in the latest parliamentary elections. Previously, the party carried the majority of seats in parliament.
Azim Zahir, a Maldives analyst and a lecturer at the University of Western Australia, stated that, “This is a remarkable achievement for Mr Muizzu, From a political institutional view, Mr Muizzu now effectively controls everything. He could theoretically control the judiciary too as he has enough numbers in parliament.”
Late last year, Muizzu came into power and his campaign was centred around concluding the country’s ‘India first’ policy, which was embraced by the previous administration. Despite being in power for some time, he did not yet make an authorised visit to Delhi. He pledged to relieve Delhi’s impact by sending all Indian battalions based in the Maldives back home.
Around 85 Indian military persons were stationed in the Maldives to sustain and manage two helicopters and an aircraft for saving and surveillance missions. These airliners were granted by Delhi several years ago. Two packs of Indian military personnel already departed from the Maldives and were replaced by India’s civilian technical team. The remaining armies are scheduled to depart the Maldives by May.
The conclusion to deploy Indian troops to the Maldives keeps strained Male’s relationship with Delhi. Beijing demonstrated interest in exploiting this situation. Muizzu, during his state visit in January, marked several investment contracts with Beijing.
In March, the Maldives inscribed a ‘military assistance’ pact with China, which enclosed non-lethal weapons for free and internship for the Maldivian protection squads. Prior to this, India and the US also delivered training to the Maldivian troops.
It is anticipated to carry a week for the legal ratification of election results. The Maldivian Election Commission reported that the voter turnout for the election was approximately 73 percent, which is down from the 82 percent turnout in 2019. Following the election outcomes, a senior leader of the MDP hailed Muizzu.
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