Pro-China party wins Maldives election in landslide, media say
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[April 22, 2024] By
Mohamed Junayd
MALE (Reuters) - Maldives voters handed President Mohamed Muizzu's party
a landslide win at parliamentary elections, media said on Monday, an
outcome set to shift the Indian Ocean archipelago closer to China and
away from traditional partner India. |
Mohamed Muizzu, Maldives presidential candidate of the opposition party,
People's National Congress gestures after casting his vote at a polling
station during the Maldives presidential election day in Male, Maldives
September 9, 2023. REUTERS/Dhahau Naseem/File Photo |
|
Muizzu's People's National Congress (PNC) won 65 of the 93 seats
up for grabs on Sunday, preliminary results from the Maldives
Elections Commission and media projections show.
The main opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) dwindled to
just 12 seats from 65 earlier.
Both Beijing and New Delhi have wooed the Maldives as they vie
for influence in the Indo-Pacific region.
Elected last year, Muizzu has pledged to end the country's
"India First" policy, straining ties with New Delhi.
His government has asked dozens of Indian military personnel to
leave the Maldives, a move critics say could hasten its shift
towards China.
Muizzu's post as president is not affected by Sunday's vote, in
which 368 candidates contested for five-year terms.
(Reporting by Mohamed Junayd; Writing by Uditha Jayasinghe;
Editing by Clarence Fernandez)
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