Candidate Muiz defeats incumbent President Solly by 8% points in runoff election
Mohamed Muijju, the opposition Progressive Party (PPM)-National Congress (PNC) coalition candidate in the Maldives presidential election, holds a press conference regarding the runoff election on the 30th of last month (local time). [AFP=연합뉴스]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Kwon Soo-hyun = A pro-China opposition candidate won the presidential election in the Maldives, an island nation in the Indian Ocean, defeating the pro-India incumbent president.
According to reports from AP and AFP on the 30th of last month (local time), Mohamed Muijou (45), candidate of the opposition Progressive Party (PPM)-National Congress (PNC) coalition, won 54% of the votes in the Maldives presidential election runoff held on this day.
Candidate Muiz defeated the current President Ibrahim Solih (61) of the Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) by 8 percentage points.
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There were about 282,000 voters in this vote, and the voter turnout was 85%, slightly higher than the first round of voting held on the 9th. In the first round of voting, candidate Muiz received 46% and President Solih received 39%, so no one received a majority of votes.
The official results of the runoff election will be released on the 1st of this month. President-elect Muiz will be inaugurated on November 17.
President Solly acknowledged defeat just before midnight on the 1st. He said through
“The people have spoken loud and clear in their desire for prosperity and guaranteed national sovereignty,” President-elect Muiz told supporters after declaring victory.
Foreign media reported that as a result of this presidential election, Maldives’ foreign policy, which had been leaning towards India during President Solih’s five-year term, has now turned back towards China.
This presidential election attracted attention as a proxy war between China and India, as the current president, who is pro-India, and the opposition candidate, who are pro-China, faced each other.
President-elect Muiz raised the slogan ‘Quit India’.
If elected, he pledged to withdraw 75 Indian troops and a number of reconnaissance aircraft from the Maldives, and promised to correct trade relations, saying they were too favorable to India.
MALDIVES-VOTE
Citizens supporting the opposition People’s National Congress (PNC) candidate Mohamed Muijou in the Maldives presidential election chant slogans in the capital Male on the 30th of last month (local time) when the runoff election was held. 2023.10.1 [AFP=연합뉴스]
In contrast, President Solih prioritized India and proposed policies friendly to the West, just as he did during his first term.
He was elected president in the 2018 presidential election by criticizing the Maldives for incurring a large amount of debt due to then-President Yameen’s participation in China’s One Belt One Road (land and maritime Silk Road connecting China-Central Asia-Europe) project.
President-elect Muise received a doctorate in civil engineering from the University of Leeds, England, and worked as an engineer in the private sector before entering politics.
He served as Minister of Housing and Infrastructure during the pro-China former President Abdullah Yameen, and is currently the mayor of Male, the capital.
While serving as Minister of Housing and Mayor of Male, he carried out various large-scale construction projects, many of which received large-scale financial support through China’s Belt and Road Initiative.
A representative example is the $200 million project to build a bridge between Male and the international airport on nearby Hulhule Island.
President-elect Mu Iju was not initially mentioned as a presidential candidate, but after former President Yameen was found guilty by the Supreme Court in August on corruption and money laundering charges and his candidacy was thwarted, he ran for the presidential election instead.
Although he listed his name as a candidate just before the registration deadline and campaigned for only three weeks, he overturned expectations that he would be at a disadvantage to incumbent President Solly and won the first round of voting and then the runoff election.
The Maldives is a country made up of 1,200 coral islands in the middle of the Indian Ocean. Although it is a small country with a population of approximately 500,000, it is strategically important as it is located on the Indian Ocean route.
At the same time, it is a country whose survival is threatened by rising sea levels due to climate warming.
President Ibrahim Solih Molyb runs for re-election
President Ibrahim Solih Molyb (right) greets people after voting at a polling station in Male, the capital, on the 30th of last month (local time) when the presidential runoff election was held. 2023.10.1 [AFP=연합뉴스]
inishmore@yna.co.kr
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2023/10/01 08:25 Sent
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2023-09-30 23:25:53
