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10-09-2023
MALE: More than a quarter of a million people vote on Saturday for the next leader of the tropical Maldives in a closely contested election seen as a battle for influence in the high-end tourist destination between India and China.
President Ibrahim Solih, who is seeking a second five-year term in the Indian Ocean archipelago, has championed an “India-first” policy during his time in power. He appears to be slightly ahead in the polls.
The coalition backing his main rival, Mohamed Muizzu, has a record of being close to China and has launched an “India out” campaign, promising to remove a small Indian military presence of several surveillance aircraft and some 75 personnel.
Muizzu entered the fray after former President Abdulla Yameen was banned from contesting the election by the Supreme Court in August following a conviction for corruption and money laundering.
A poll of 384 people published last month by the Baani Center think tank found that 21% of respondents favored Solih compared with 14% supporting Muizzu.
“August’s poll reveals a majority of voters, 53%, remain undecided just three weeks before the first round vote on 9 September. This month’s poll has seen the most ‘undecideds’ since Baani began its monthly poll in April,” the organization said in a statement.
If no candidate manages to secure 50% plus one vote, there will be a second round vote on Sept. 30 to decide the winner.
Under Yameen, the Maldives, a Muslim nation of 550,000 people – had declared a foreign policy shift east towards China, eschewing its traditional “India-first” policy. Yameen’s government went on to obtain more than $1bn in loans from Beijing to finance huge infrastructure projects, including housing for residents of land-scarce Male and a first-of-its-kind bridge connecting the congested capital to nearby suburb and airport islands.
Despite the unprecedented economic growth, Maldivians turned on Yameen over a wide-ranging crackdown on dissent that included the jailing of nearly all opposition leaders, persecution of journalists and a huge corruption scandal, in which tens of millions of dollars were stolen from public coffers and used to bribe judges, legislators and members of watchdog institutions. (Int’l News Desk)
