Maldives vote moves it closer to China

On Sunday, the South Asian archipelago of the Maldives held parliamentary elections, widely viewed as a referendum on the pro-China policies of President Mohamed Muizzu. Preliminary returns have Muizzu’s People’s National Congress Party leading with 66 of 93 seats up for grabs (with 86 declared), with 73% of 284,000 eligible voters casting ballots.

India out, China in. Muizzu came to power last September on an “India Out” campaign, repudiating his country’s historical ties to New Delhi in favor of closer links with Beijing. Since then, Muizzu ordered the expulsion of Indian military personnel and awarded significant infrastructure projects to Chinese companies. Earlier this year, Muizzu traveled to China to strike a deal that boosted Chinese tourism by 200%, in the wake of a 40% drop in Indian tourism caused by derogatory remarks made by Maldivian deputy ministers about Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Muizzu was considered a proxy candidate for former President Abdulla Yameen, who held power between 2013 and 2018 and whose 11-year jail term on bribery charges was overturned last week. Under Yameen, the Maldives joined China’s Belt and Road Initiative in 2013. Both India and China view the Maldives as a strategic maritime hub in the Indian Ocean due to its location on major east-west international shipping routes.