Muizzu’s allies say his election could rid the country of foreign interference entirely.
Colombo:
The Maldives will vote on Saturday in a presidential runoff that could dramatically rebalance relations with India and China, two regional giants vying for influence in the geopolitical hotspot.
The atoll of nearly 1,200 coral islets is a prestigious tourist hotspot and favorite beach holiday destination for the world’s rich and famous.
It is also in a strategically vital position in the middle of the Indian Ocean, straddling one of the busiest east-west shipping lanes in the world.
Leader Mohamed Muizzu’s party found itself close to Beijing during its last term in office and was an eager recipient of financial largesse from China’s Belt and Road infrastructure program.
Muizzu, the 45-year-old mayor of Male, led the Chinese-backed $200 million bridge connecting the capital to the country’s main airport during his previous government.
He won just over 46 percent of the first round earlier this month, while incumbent Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, who led efforts to restore ties with traditional benefactor India, trailed on 39 percent.
But with only 283,000 eligible voters and barely 15,000 votes between the two, former Foreign Minister Ahmed Shaheed told AFP the battle was at a razor’s edge.
“The mood in the Maldives suggests that the two candidates are narrowing their gap,” Shaheed said.
“This will be a very, very exciting race.”
Solih became president in 2018 due to dissatisfaction with his autocratic predecessor Abdullah Yameen, an ally of Muizzu who is now serving an 11-year prison sentence for corruption.
He had accused Yameen of pushing the country into a Chinese debt trap by borrowing heavily for infrastructure.
Yameen’s turn to Beijing had alarmed New Delhi, which shares Western concerns about China’s growing assertiveness in the Indian Ocean and is a member of the strategic Quad alliance alongside the United States, Australia and Japan.
Solih, 61, moved quickly to repair relations with India, inviting Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend his inauguration and boosting the small military presence.
‘Independence and sovereignty’
Since losing the first round on September 9, Solih has tried to gain support by campaigning on local issues such as housing.
Muizzu’s Progressive Party of Maldives (PPM) has kept the debate focused on diplomacy by strengthening Solih’s position on India, a country with outsized political and economic influence in the country that has long been a source of discontent.
The PPM and activist groups have regularly staged street protests demanding a reduction in Indian influence in the Muslim nation.
The public anger against India was partly a reflection of people’s frustration with the Solih government’s alleged or actual corruption, Shaheed said.
He added that the stability of the next government would depend on charting a course that avoids antagonizing any of the archipelago’s powerful suitors.
“The next president will have to balance the interests of both India and China,” Shaheed told AFP. “You can’t reject India and survive.”
Muizzu’s allies say his election could rid the country of foreign interference entirely.
Dunya Maumoon, a former minister who served alongside Muizzu, told AFP this week that she supported his efforts to “save the country’s independence and sovereignty”.
But Muizzu has been open about his plans to emulate his mentor Yameen’s pro-Beijing side.
He told an online meeting with representatives of the Chinese Communist Party last year that if the PPM returned to power it would “write a new chapter of strong ties between our two countries.”
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)