Pro-China PNC wins Maldives polls amid India row
Male: Maldives President Muhammad Muizzu’s party has bagged a landslide victory in parliamentary elections of the country, the reports said.
Muhammad Muizzu’s party People’s National Congress (PNC) won 65 of the 93 seats up for grabs, preliminary results from the Maldives Elections Commission and media projections show.
As per reports, the main opposition Maldives Democratic Party (MDP) dwindled to just 12 seats from 65 earlier.
Both China and India 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.
