A landslide victory in the legislative elections for the president's pro-China party

Maldives President Mohamed Moizo's party won a landslide victory in the legislative elections on Sunday, according to preliminary results, as voters shifted their votes in favor of the head of state's policy of rapprochement with China, at the expense of India, the long-dominant power in the Maldives. Tourist archipelago in the Indian Ocean.

Mohamed Moizo's party, the People's National Congress, won 66 seats out of 86 announced, according to the results of the Electoral Commission of the Maldives, which far exceeds the absolute majority in this unicameral parliament, which has only 93 members.

The vote, whose results came earlier than expected, was seen as a critical test of Mohamed Mwizo's plan to boost economic cooperation with China, including building thousands of apartments on controversial reclaimed land. Mohamed Mwizo awarded infrastructure contracts to Chinese state-owned companies in April, a controversial decision in the midst of a legislative election campaign.

Agreement with Beijing

The Palestinian National Council and its allies had only eight seats in the outgoing Legislative Council, which paralyzed Muhammad Maazo, who was elected in September. The 45-year-old president was among the first to cast their votes on Sunday, at a school in the capital Male, where he served as mayor between 2021 and 2023, and urged Maldivians to go to the polls.

The Maldives, a favorite holiday destination with its pristine white sandy beaches, occupies a strategic location on major international shipping routes between East and West, and has become a hotbed of geopolitical rivalry between India and China.

“Geopolitics was strongly present in the background of the parties’ campaign for Sunday’s elections.”One of Mohamed Mazou’s collaborators told Agence France-Presse, on condition of anonymity. The president pledged to expel 89 Indian soldiers stationed in the island nation to fly three aircraft gifted by India to the Maldives to patrol across its vast maritime territory.

The withdrawal began in March with the departure of 25 soldiers stationed on Addo Atoll, in the far south of the archipelago. “He works there”his assistant developed this belief “Parliament did not cooperate with him.”.

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His former mentor was released on Thursday

Since Mohamed Mazou, 45, took office at the end of 2023, MPs have blocked three of his government appointments and rejected some of his budget proposals. The outgoing parliament, dominated by the pro-India Maldivian Democratic Party led by its predecessor, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, has sought to thwart his efforts to redirect the archipelago's diplomacy.

Former president and mentor of Muhammad Mu'azu, Abdulla Yameen (2013-2018), was released on Thursday, after the court overturned his 11-year prison sentence on charges of corruption and money laundering.

The Maldives Supreme Court ordered a retrial, ruling that the trial that took place in 2022 was unfair. Abdulla Yameen promised to continue the anti-India campaign that allowed his ally to win the presidential elections last September. Also in March, Mali signed an agreement “military assistance” With Beijing aiming to “Enhancing bilateral relations”According to the Maldivian Ministry of Defence