Maldives_President_Muizzu
In a setback for Maldives President Mohamed Muizzu, the pro-India opposition Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) has won a landslide victory in the mayoral elections in the capital Male.
The MDP candidate, Adam Azim, has been elected as the new mayor of Male, a position until recently held by Muizzu. Muizzu resigned as a presidential candidate last year.
The media in the Maldives reported Azim’s victory as a landslide and a victory by a wide margin.
The MDP is led by pro-India former President Mohammad Solih, who was defeated in the presidential election by Muizzu, a pro-China leader.
The interim results show that Azim won with 45 percent of the votes, while Azima Shakoor of Muizzu’s People’s National Congress (PNC) got 29 percent, PSM News reported.
Others vying for the mayoral seat included Democrats’ candidate Saif Fathih and independent candidates Hussain Waheed and Ali Shuaib.
According to reports, Saturday’s election was marked by a low turnout.
About 30 percent of the 54,680 eligible voters cast their votes.
The mayor’s election victory is expected to revive the political fortunes of the MDP, which still has a majority in parliament.
Muizzu, who returned to Male on Saturday after a five-day state visit to China, congratulated Azim and pledged to work with the Male Municipal Council and the mayor.
Azim said his victory was a victory for all the people of Male.
Speaking to Mihaaru News, Azim expressed his gratitude to those who supported him and voted for him in the elections. He also thanked MDP leadership and campaign teams.
The mayoral elections took place against the backdrop of derogatory comments made by three deputy ministers of the Muizzu government against Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sparking a diplomatic row with India. During his high-profile visit to China, Muizzu sought to bring the Maldives closer to Beijing.
Muizzu suspended the three ministers following their social media posts, which sparked concern in India and calls for a boycott by Indian tourists who ranked highest in terms of numbers, followed by Russia. Chinese tourists came in third place.
(Only the headline and image of this report may have been reworked by Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
First print: January 14, 2024 | 4:45 PM IST