Elections in the Maldives, test on the rivalry between China and India – Breaking news

The Maldives are voting today in the legislative elections which are presented as a test for President Mohamed Muizzu’s policy of rapprochement with China, to the detriment of India, which has long been a dominant power in the tourist archipelago of the Indian Ocean.

The Maldives islands which lie in the Indian Ocean, occupy a strategic position on major east-west international shipping routes, and have become a hotbed of geopolitical rivalry between India and China. The president, 45, was one of the first to vote at the Tajuddin School in the capital Malé.

Since Mohamed Muizzu took office in late 2023, lawmakers have blocked three of his government appointments and rejected some of his budget proposals.

The current parliament, dominated by his predecessor Ibrahim Mohamed Solih’s pro-India Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP), has sought to thwart his efforts to reorient the archipelago’s diplomacy. Divisions within the main political parties, including Muizzu’s National People’s Congress (PNC), are expected to prevent the parties from gaining a clear majority, observers say, and will require the formation of a coalition. The release on Thursday of the leader’s mentor, former President Abdulla Yameen, following a court’s quashing of his 11-year prison sentence for corruption and money laundering, is expected to boost Muizzu.

India considers the archipelago part of its sphere of influence, but the Maldives has fallen into the orbit of China, its largest foreign creditor, with the election of Muizzu.

Also in March, Malé signed a “military assistance” agreement with Beijing that aims to “strengthen bilateral ties,” according to the Maldivian Defense Ministry.

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