Maldives: The Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) candidate Mr. Mohamed Muizzu has won the presidential election after a second-round run-off against Mr. Ibrahim Mohamed Solih.
The Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) leader Mr. Solih conceded defeat shortly before midnight after the Elections Commission of the Maldives said Mr. Muizzu had won 54.06 percent of the vote in the run-off contest.
“Congratulations to president-elect Mr. Muizzu,” Mr. Solih posted on X. “Thank you for the beautiful democratic example shown by the people in the elections,” the MDP candidate added. The 61-year-old will remain as caretaker president until his successor’s inauguration on November 17.
Mr. Muizzu emerged as the frontrunner during the first round of voting on September 8, securing some 46 percent of the votes. Mr. Solih, who was dealing with a split within his own party, won 39 percent of the votes.
The run-off election was seen as significant to the Maldives’s foreign policy, especially in deciding China and India’s battle for influence in the strategically located country.
Mr. Muizzu had previously told a meeting with Chinese Communist Party officials last year that his party’s return to office would “script a further chapter of strong ties between our two countries”.
According to reports, the party’s return to power might also mean freedom for former President Mr. Abdulla Yameen. Mr. Yameen, who lost power in 2018 as he moved the country closer to China, is serving an 11-year prison term for corruption and money laundering.
Watchdog group Transparency Maldives commented on the presidential election by stating that there had been some incidents of “electoral violence,” without specifying further details.
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