Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu’s party, People’s National Congress (PNC), has won the island nation’s parliamentary election held on Sunday by a large margin.
This victory may harden the President’s pro-China stand which would have negative implications for India.
The PNC, which contested 90 out of the 93 seats in the Maldivian parliament Majlis, has won 66 out of the 86 seats for which results have been declared. This is more than a two-third majority in the House.
This result will enable President Muizzu, who is seen as anti-India, to push policies through the parliament.
Strength in parliament
The Majlis exercises supervisory powers over the Maldivian executive and can hold up presidential decisions. Before this election, PNC was part of an alliance that was in the minority in the House.
The Majlis was earlier dominated by the Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), led by Muizzu’s pro-India predecessor Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, with 41 members. MDP has won just a dozen seats so far in this election.
Since taking over, the president has awarded major infrastructure contracts to Chinese state-owned companies. His party’s electoral victory is set to clear most obstacles for him.
Restrained approach
India has so far adopted a restrained approach and downplayed the strained ties. External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar had said that neighbours need each other. He had stressed that history and geography are very powerful forces.
President Muizzu has pushed for the exit of 80-odd Indian soldiers who were stationed on the island for humanitarian work. Interestingly, last month Muizzu acknowledged India’s financial support to Male. Maldives owes India around $ 400.9 million.
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